Africa

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much money has been allocated to clean water initiatives in Africa in each of the last four years.

Hilary Benn: Estimated total DFID water and sanitation related expenditure in Africa through all funding mechanisms, including DFID's share of multilateral spend, 2000-01 to 2003-04.
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2000-01 56.4 
			 2001-02 52.4 
			 2002-03 45.6 
			 2003-04 46.1 
		
	
	As we adopt an integrated approach to water, sanitation and hygiene promotion, is not therefore possible to extract from these total figures how much is specific to clean water initiatives.
	Building on the 2003-04 expenditure figure I have committed to double spending on water supply and sanitation sectors in Africa to £95 million a year in 2007-08, and to more than double funding again to £200 million a year by 2010-11.
	The international donor community as a whole, including DFID, other bilaterals and multilateral, committed the following to water and sanitation:
	
		
			  $ million 
			   North Africa  Sub-Saharan Africa  Total 
			 2001 335 768 1,103 
			 2002 134 483 616 
			 2003 180 748 928 
			 2004 340 1,501 1,842 
			  Source: OECD Development Assistance Committee.

Developing Countries

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the cost and benefits of water privatisation in developing countries.

Hilary Benn: The track record of the private sector in delivering water in developing countries has been mixed which is why DFID is interested in what works. And what works varies from place to place so the public versus private debate is not a straightforward one. The UN Human Development Report recognises that "the most obvious lesson from any review of public and private provision is that there are no hard and fast cross-country blueprints for success".
	Successful public water utilities include ONEA in Burkina Faso, SANASA in Brazil and the National Water and Sewerage Corporation in Uganda (NWSC). The NWSC provides consultancy and advisory services to other utilities in East Africa. The formation of this business unit has been partly due to the strength of the private sector environment in Uganda. On the other hand the UN Human Development Report also notes that "many publicly owned utilities are failing the poor, combining inefficiency and lack of accountability in management with inequity in financing and pricing."
	In Cochabamba, Bolivia, the failure of private sector water provision led to rioting in the streets and the cancellation of the contract with the private provider. In Senegal on the other hand, private sector involvement helped create 81,000 new water connections and increased the country's water supply by 10 per cent. between 1996 and 2003.
	The failure and success of both public and private utilities depends on more than ownership structure. Factors such as the level of inherited debt, the quality of regulation and the engagement of civil society are highly significant. The conclusion that DFID draws is to support what works best in each context in for the world's poorest people.
	DFID's policy is that—where we can—we respond to requests from developing country governments for assistance to help improve the efficiency of their water utilities. Usually this involves DFID providing support to public bodies. In some cases, where the developing country government has a policy for participation of the private sector in service delivery, DFID may be asked to advise on how this might best be done.
	Nevertheless, the public sector continues to play the leading role in providing water and sanitation throughout the world. This is why most of DFID's aid (about 95 per cent. of our bilateral country programme expenditure on water and sanitation) supports the delivery of water and sanitation through governments, not-for-profit or humanitarian agencies.
	Assessments off public and private provision have been completed by a range of international and research organisations including the World Bank. These studies (including a DFID-funded assessment by WaterAid of the impact of private sector involvement on the poor) reinforce DFID's view that the polarised debate about public and private utility ownership fails to grasp the complexity of the current situation. DFID believes that different approaches work best in different contexts.

Euro-Mediterranean Partnership

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much aid the  (a) UK and  (b) EU has given to third country parties to the Euro-Mediterranean partnership in 2006.

Gareth Thomas: Official figures for 2006 will not be available until December of this year. Figures are therefore provided for 2005.
	
		
			  Official development assistance to third country parties to the Euro-Mediterranean partnership, 2005 
			  £ million 
			  Recipient  United Kingdom  EC 
			 Algeria 0.00 31.33 
			 Egypt 3.40 100.57 
			 Israel 0.00 0.00 
			 Jordan 3.33 20.46 
			 Lebanon 0.30 24.04 
			 Morocco 0.00 161.23 
			 Palestinian adm. areas 12.94 113.71 
			 Syria 0.08 18.08 
			 Tunisia 11.68 53.16 
			 Turkey -0.59 215.63 
			  Note: Data extracted from OECD.Stat.

Common Agricultural Policy

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was paid in sterling to British farmers under the Common Agricultural Policy in each of the last three years.

Barry Gardiner: The following table shows payments made through CAP schemes and rural development programmes to farmers in the United Kingdom for the period 2003 to 2005 as recorded in the production and income account of the economic account for agriculture. They exclude payments made through the over thirty month scheme, compensation for losses due to animal disease and capital transfers.
	
		
			  Direct payments made through CAP schemes and rural development programmes to farmers in the United Kingdom—shows payments after deduction for modulation where appropriate 
			  £ million 
			   Calendar years 
			   2003  2004  2005 (provisional) 
			  Crop subsidies
			 Arable area payments (except set- aside) 924 901 0 
			 Arable Area Payments on set-aside 177 129 — 
			 Other crop subsidies(1) 3 12 11 
			 
			  Livestock subsidies:
			 Beef Special Premium(2) 238 266 — 
			 Suckler Cow Premium(3) 208 230 — 
			 Slaughter Premium 136 156 — 
			 Extensification Payment Scheme 145 154 — 
			 Beef National Envelope 34 36 — 
			 Scottish Beef Calf Scheme — — 20 
			 Sheep Annual Premium 276 300 — 
			 Sheep National Envelope 10 17 — 
			 Dairy subsidies(4) — 108 — 
			 Single Payment Scheme — — 2,375 
			 
			  Rural Development Programmes:
			 Less favoured areas support schemes(5) 163 153 144 
			 
			  Agri-environment schemes:
			 Countryside Stewardship and Arable Stewardship Schemes 71 104 114 
			 Countryside Premium and Rural Stewardship Schemes 13 11 10 
			 Stewardship Schemes 13 11 10 
			 Tir Cymen and Tir Gofal 17 21 24 
			 Countryside Management Scheme 3 6 3 
			 Organic Aid and Organic Farming Schemes 21 14 10 
			 Environmentally Sensitive Areas Scheme 81 82 79 
			 Nitrate Sensitive Areas Scheme — — — 
			 Other (e) 4 3 3 
			 (1) CAP hops and herbage seeds support; hemp and flax aid; oilseed rape and linseed support; protein crop premium; area aid for nuts; energy crops aid (2) Includes extensification premium and deseasonalisation premium (where applicable). (3) Includes agri-monetary compensation; dairy premium and additional dairy premium. (4) Tir Mynydd in Wales, less favoured area compensatory allowance scheme in Northern Ireland, less favoured areas support scheme in Scotland and hill farm allowance in England. (5) Includes Moorland, habitat and countryside access farming schemes; entry level pilot scheme.

Consultants

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which 10 consultancy fees charged to his Department since May 1997 were the most expensive.

Barry Gardiner: The Department came into being in June 2001. From information held centrally, the top 10 management and business consultancy fees charged to the Department since financial year 2002-03 are as follows:
	
		
			  2002-03 
			  Vendor name  Expenditure (£) 
			 PA Consulting Group 5,281,766.67 
			 Logica UK 3,781,131.46 
			 Hedra Consortium 1,240,476.13 
			 Cornwell Management Consultants plc 915,374.51 
			 Deloitte Consulting 705,000.00 
			 Risk Solutions 668,340.95 
			 IBM United Kingdom Ltd 481,751.78 
			 QI Consulting 296,270.41 
			 PKF 238,366.33 
			 Amtec Consulting Group 223,521.10 
			 Total 13,831,999.34 
		
	
	
		
			  2003-04 
			  Vendor name  Expenditure (£) 
			 PA Consulting Group 6,899,587.19 
			 Deloitte MCS Ltd 2,679,518.23 
			 Hedra Consortium 2,090,149.22 
			 Cornwell Management Consultants plc 2,057,281.94 
			 IBM United Kingdom Ltd 1,505,892.18 
			 QI Consulting 891,162.55 
			 Accenture (UK) Ltd 612,378.25 
			 Logica UK Ltd 530,230.50 
			 Towers Perrin 463,205.17 
			 HDRA Consultants 455,462.82 
			 Total 18,184,868.05 
		
	
	
		
			  2004-05 
			  Vendor name  Expenditure (£) 
			 PA Consulting Group 6,250,090.00 
			 Tribal Yale 3,757,205.00 
			 Hedra Consortium 2,954,821.00 
			 Deloitte MCS Ltd 2,426,806.00 
			 LogicaCMG 855,605.00 
			 KPMG 769,920.00 
			 Cornwell Management Consultants 600,953.00 
			 Towers Perrin 591,529.00 
			 Accenture 525.021.00 
			 Logica UK Ltd. 421,963.00 
			 Total 19,153,913.00 
		
	
	
		
			  2005-06 
			  Vendor name  Expenditure (£) 
			 Hedra Consortium 5,229,558.43 
			 Tribal Yale 4,852,476.88 
			 PA Consulting 4,700,388.39 
			 LogicaCMG 3,063,782.26 
			 Deloitte MCS Ltd 2,998,213.46 
			 Cornwell Management Consultants 1,220,361.87 
			 KPMG 876,387.10 
			 Logica UK Ltd 799,967.61 
			 Ernst and Young 215,399.83 
			 Accenture 107,088.33 
			 Total 24,063,624.16 
		
	
	
		
			  2006-07 (April 2006 to September 2006) 
			  Vendor name  Expenditure (£) 
			 PA Consulting 2,263,616.49 
			 Hedra Consortium 1,976,474.48 
			 Tribal Yale 1,432,303.91 
			 LogicaCMG 825,239.48 
			 KPMG 606,590.43 
			 Corven 557,331.76 
			 Cornwell Management Consultants 302,642.45 
			 Deloitte MCS Ltd 279,747.32 
			 Ernst and Young 63,767.26 
			 Deloitte and Touche 39,894.78 
			 Total 8,347,608.36

Departmental Staff

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many value for money exercises on the use of  (a) management consultants and  (b) professional advisers have been conducted by his Department in each of the last five years for which information is available; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: Public procurement policy and practice requires all contracts to be let against the criterion of value for money. Each client commissioning management consultants, and professional advisers, is required to comply with this policy and practice. Separately, the Department is undertaking a root and branch review of its expenditure on consultancy and professional services and, as part of this work, is considering the NAO study on the public sector's use of consultants published recently. As part of this study, publicly available, the NAO worked with MORI to carry out a survey of public sector consultancy expenditure based on information from Departments, including DEFRA.

Income Statistics

Michael Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the  (a) average investment income and  (b) average earned income was of (i) the top (A) 0.1 per cent., (B) one per cent., (C) five per cent., (D) 10 per cent., (E) 20 per cent. and (F) 25 per cent. and (ii) bottom (1) 70 per cent. and (2) 50 per cent. of all taxpayers in the latest year for which data is available.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 15 January 2007
	The information for 2004-05 is provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Taxpayers ranged on total tax paid ( 1)  (per cent.) ( 2) Mean total investment income ( 3) Mean total earned income 
			 Top 0.1 146,000 754,000 
			 Top 1 35,200 220,000 
			 Top 5 12,400 95,900 
			 Top 10 7,890 68,500 
			 Top 20 4,750 50,100 
			 Top 25 4,090 45,300 
			 Bottom 70 1,010 12,200 
			 Bottom 50 827 9,740 
			 (1 )Estimates obtained from the Survey of Personal Incomes, 2004-05. (2) Investment income defined as the sum of rents from UK property, interest from banks, building societies and other deposit takers, dividends from shares in UK companies and unit trusts and other income taxable at 20 per cent. (3) Earned income includes pay, pensions, self-employment income and miscellaneous other earnings. (4) Estimates are rounded to 3 significant figurers.

Personal Debt

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how the amount of unsecured personal debt has changed in the last 20 years as a percentage of  (a) average (median) income and  (b) GDP.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 17 January 2007:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question on the amount of unsecured personal debt in the last 20 years as a percentage of (a) average income and (b) GDP. I am replying in her absence.
	The information requested is shown in the attached table. The first period for which data on unsecured personal debt is available is 1987.
	The estimates for unsecured debt (households' total financial liabilities other than secured debt) are the national accounts series for the combined household and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH) sectors. Consistent estimates of average income are not available. The figures are given instead as a proportion of total gross disposable income.
	Estimates for households alone are not available. NPISHs are legal entities which are principally engaged in the production of non-market services for households and whose main resources are voluntary contributions by households. For example, charities; relief and aid organisations; educational establishments; trade unions; professional associations, political parties and religious organisations, and sports clubs and associations.
	
		
			  Unsecured personal debt as a percentage of average income and GDP, 1987-2005 
			   Unsecured Personal debt( 1)  (end-year) (£)  Gross Disposable Income( 2)  (£)  GDP (£ million)  Unsecured debt as a % of average income(end-year)  Unsecured debt as a % of GDP (end-year) 
			 1987 47,088 262,603 420,211 17.9 11.2 
			 1988 57,606 290,907 469,035 19.8 12.3 
			 1989 68,854 323,573 514,921 21.3 13.4 
			 1990 74,779 359,898 558,160 20.8 13.4 
			 1991 75,439 395,925 587,080 19.1 12.8 
			 1992 72,081 426,780 611,974 16.9 11.8 
			 1993 68,623 452,965 642,656 15.1 10.7 
			 1994 72,031 469,387 680,978 15.3 10.6 
			 1995 77,474 497,593 719,747 15.6 10.8 
			 1996 80,084 526,366 765,152 15.2 10.5 
			 1997 88,412 559,941 811,194 15.8 10.9 
			 1998 97,404 582,790 860,796 16.7 11.3 
			 1999 109,208 608,988 906,567 17.9 12.0 
			 2000 124,323 643,415 953,227 19.3 13.0 
			 2001 140,891 686,312 996,987 20.5 14.1 
			 2002 157,748 709,048 1,048,767 22.2 15.0 
			 2003 163,506 740,389 1,110,296 22.1 14.7 
			 2004 183,390 765,683 1,176,527 24.0 15.6 
			 2005 194,003 804,756 1,225,339 24.1 15.8 
			 (1) Unsecured personal debt is the sum of short term loans issued by Monetary Financial Institutions in the United Kingdom and abroad. We have assumed average income as being gross disposable income. The data were published in the United Kingdom Economic Accounts table 64 published on 21 December 2006 available at the following address. http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=1904&Pos=&ColRank=l&Rank=422 (2 )For the combined household and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH) sectors, consistent estimates of average income are not available. The figures are given as a proportion of total gross disposable income.

Tax Returns

Grant Shapps: To ask he cellor of the Exchequer what measures are in place to ensure that claims for £250 payment for online completion of tax forms by employers are processed in a fair and systematic way according to the receipt dates of claims.

Dawn Primarolo: All small employers who successfully file their annual return online have the incentive amount credited to their PAYE account. The vast majority of these employers "self serve" the incentive which means that hey deduct the amount from future payments of tax and national insurance.
	A minority of employers request a cheque payment of the incentive—this process takes longer than the self-service arrangements. HMRC aim to make these payments within 21 days of the date the request was received.

Works of Art

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission which works of art were  (a) acquired and  (b) bought by the House authorities in 2006; and how much was paid for each item.

Nick Harvey: The following works of art were acquired by the House of Commons Collection in 2006, either by gift, loan or purchase made by the Advisory Committee on Works of Art:
	 Works of Art given to the House of Commons in 2006
	History is now and England (view of the House of Commons Library); painted by Vincent Keter [Catalogue reference WOA 6486]
	Portrait of Arthur Wellesley Peel; painted by William Ewart Lockhart [Catalogue reference WOA 6550]
	 Works of Art loaned to the House of Commons in 2006
	Portrait of 1st Earl of Chatham; painted by William Hoare [Catalogue reference WOA L796]
	Portrait of Lord Wilson of Rievaulx painted by Ruskin Spear [Catalogue reference WOA L797]
	The House of Commons, 1965; painted by Gerald Scarfe [Catalogue reference WOA L798]
	Caricature of Sir Winston Churchill's last day in the Commons Chamber; drawn by Gerald Scarfe [Catalogue reference WOA L799]
	Portrait of Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford; painted by Nathaniel Dance [Catalogue reference WOA L800]
	Preliminary pen and ink sketch of Lord Rowton with a pencil sketch of William Gladstone on the reverse; drawn by Spy (Lesley Ward), Purchased for £250 [Catalogue reference WOA 6501]
	Views of the Clock Tower and Victoria Tower, supplements to the Illustrated London News, 1860s, Chromolithographic prints; printed by an unknown engraver, Purchased for £8.74 [Catalogue references WOA 6502 to 6503]
	View of Chevening; painted by Marcus May (The cost of this commission is commercially confidential), [Catalogue reference WOA 6504]
	Rug from a design by AWN Pugin with VR monogram, Hand-knotted wool; unknown manufacturer, Purchased jointly with the Speaker's Art Fund for £32,100 [Catalogue reference WOA T45]
	Portrait bust in bronze of Lord Home of the Hirsel; sculpted by Angela Conner, (The cost of this commission is commercially confidential) [Catalogue reference WOA S528]
	Portrait photographs of Baroness Castle of Blackburn, Lord Parkinson, right hon. Clare Short MP, Lord Alton of Liverpool, Lord Owen, Lord Steel of Aikwood, Lord Healey, right hon. Donald Dewar, Baron Boyle of Handsworth, right hon. Sir Edward Heath (two photographs), Enoch Powell, right hon. Frank Dobson MP, right hon. Sir Gerald Kaufman MP, Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody MP, Lord Wilson of Rievaulx (two photographs), right hon. Hugh Gaitskell, right hon. Aneurin Bevan, Lord Callaghan, Lord Archer of Weston-super-mare, Baroness Lee of Asheridge, John Smith, Jonathan Aitken, right hon. Kenneth Clarke MP, right hon. Sir Malcolm Rifkind MP, Lord Shinwell, Baroness Thatcher, Lord Heseltine, right hon. Dr Marjorie Mowlam, Lord Kinnock, Lord Fowler, right hon. Reginald Maudling, right hon. Robin Cook, Lord Hattersley, Lord Jenkins of Hillhead, Baroness Williams of Crosby, Baron Joseph, Viscount Tonypandy, Baron Selwyn Lloyd, Tarn Dalyell, Tim Eggar, right hon. Tony Benn and right hon. Tony Blair MP; photographed by Jane Bown, Purchased for £6,450 [Catalogue references WOA 6505 to 6547]
	Portrait of right hon. James Ramsay Macdonald; drawn by Harold Storey, Purchased for £48.23 [Catalogue reference WOA 6548]
	Portrait of Speaker William Bromley; painting attributed to Michael Dahl, purchased for £2,000 [Catalogue reference WOA 6549]

Correspondence

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many letters to his Department sent from hon. Members during Session 2005-06 remain unanswered, broken down by those which are  (a) one,  (b) two,  (c) three,  (d) four and  (e) over six months old.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department has the following unanswered correspondence from hon. Members for the 2005-06 session:
	
		
			   Unanswered correspondence 
			 Over six months old 0 
			 Four months old 2 
			 Three months old 0 
			 Two months old 0 
			 One month old 14 
		
	
	The total number of letters received from hon. Member's for this session was 12,509, 8,272 of which were answered within the 15 day deadline.

Recyclates

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what volume of recyclates was exported to China in each year for which figures are available.

Malcolm Wicks: Recyclates are not recorded if they are not subject to the prior written notification and consent procedures which apply to exports of hazardous waste. However, HMRC's Overseas Trade Statistics include mass data for waste and scrap, including the selection of UK exports to China shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Thousand tonnes 
			   Waste, pairings and scrap of plastics  Waste and scrap of paper and paperboard  Waste and scrap of metal 
			 1997 0 4 8 
			 1998 1 2 7 
			 1999 4 5 14 
			 2000 5 6 115 
			 2001 7 49 130 
			 2002 11 160 120 
			 2003 26 349 377 
			 2004 63 1,089 286 
			 2005 42 1,527 324 
			  Notes:  1. Overseas Trade Statistics basis. 2. 0 indicates less than 500 tonnes. 3. Metal includes waste and scrap of precious metal or metal clad with precious metal, ferrous metal, copper, nickel, aluminium, lead, zinc, tin, tungsten and tantalum. 
		
	
	Some waste glass (cullet) exports were recorded, but this was less than 50 tonnes in total across the nine years.

Departmental Annual Report

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the  (a) cost and  (b) purpose was of the consultancy work referred to in figure 11b of his Department's annual report 2006.

Stephen Ladyman: The table in question is reproduced to provide the costs as requested.
	
		
			  Figure 11b: Road safety expenditure 1999-2000 to 2007-08— consultancies for roads and local transport 
			  Outturn  £ million 
			 2000-01 3.5 
			 2001-02 4.2 
			 2002-03 4.6 
			 2003-04 3.6 
			 2004-05 3.7 
			 2005-06 3.7 
			 2006-07 4.3 
			 2007-08 4.5 
		
	
	The item referred to as consultancies for roads and local transport covers the cost of the entire Road User Safety Division Research Programme.
	The programme covers research work on topics such as vulnerable road users, driver and rider behaviour, driver impairment, road engineering and speed management, statistical analysis, accident causation and medical and health-related impairment.
	Our published research reports and a compendium of current and recently completed projects is available on the Department's website at the following addresses:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_rdsafety/documents/divisionhomepage/032513.hcsp;
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_rdsafety/documents/page/dft_rdsafety_612214.pdf.

Roads: Essex

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average number of drivers was in Essex in each of the last five years.

Stephen Ladyman: The available annual data on the number of substantive licence holders in Essex is provided as follows:
	
		
			  Substantive licence holders in Essex( 1) 
			  Year( 2)  Number 
			 2002 826,000 
			 2003 825,000 
			 2004 (3)— 
			 2005 819,000 
			 2006 828,000 
			 (1) Includes all substantive licence holders resident in Essex at the time of the data extract, including motorcycle only licence holders. (2) Data were extracted from the DVLA central database at different points in each year; May 2002, November 2003, July 2005 and January 2006. (3) Data not available

Safety Cameras

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many new speed cameras were installed on roads in Essex in each of the last five years.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department only holds information regarding the number of speed camera sites operated by Safety Camera Partnerships. Each site may have one or more speed camera enforcement locations within the approved site. The information in the following table relates to the number of fixed and mobile camera sites in each of the five calendar years for which full records are available.
	
		
			  Speed cameras sites installed in the Essex Safety Camera Partnership area 
			  Calendar year  Fixed  Mobile  Total 
			 2001 27 78 105 
			 2002 6 5 11 
			 2003 18 14 32 
			 2004 2 7 9 
			 2005 46 2 48

Apprenticeships

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many apprenticeships there were in  (a) North East Lincolnshire and  (b) North Lincolnshire in each year since 1997.

Phil Hope: Figures for those participating in apprenticeships funded by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) can be derived from the Individualised Learner Record (ILR). The work-based learning (WBL) ILR was first collated in 2002/03 and consistent figures are only available from that year.
	The following table shows the average number of apprentices in learning in the local LSC area of Lincolnshire and Rutland based on the home postcode of the learner.
	
		
			  Lincolnshire and Rutland 
			   Apprentices 
			 2002/03 2,100 
			 2003/04 2,400 
			 2004/05 2,600 
			 2005/06 2,500 
			  Note: Figures rounded to nearest 100.

Children's Centres

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what children's centres are located in East Sussex constituencies.

Beverley Hughes: There are currently 10 Sure Start children's centres in East Sussex constituencies; these are listed at annex A. There are a further 18 planned. Nationally, 1,051 children's centres are now reaching over 800,000 children and their families. The strong engagement of local authorities and local partners means that we are making good progress towards our target of 3,500 children's centres—one for every community—by 2010.
	
		
			  Annex A: Sure Start children's centres in East Sussex 
			  Name of children's centre  Constituency 
			 Denton Island Children's Centre Lewes 
			 Egerton Park Family Learning Centre Bexhill and Battle 
			 Hailsham East Children's Centre Wealden 
			 Hastings and St. Leonards Children's Centre Hastings and Rye 
			 Ore Valley Children's Centre Hastings and Rye 
			 Peacehaven Children's Centre Brighton Kemptown 
			 Robsack Children's Centre Hastings and Rye 
			 Rural Rother Children's Centre Hastings and Rye 
			 Shinewater Children's Centre Eastbourne 
			 Willingdon Trees Children's Centre Eastbourne

GCSE Engineering

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps are being taken to improve the level of achievement in GCSE Engineering; and how many candidates achieved each grade in GCSE Engineering in each of the last five years, broken down by sex.

Phil Hope: The Department has actively supported the teaching and learning of the GCSEs in vocational subjects by working closely with the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT), the Learning and Skills Network (LSN) and awarding bodies to provide training and guidance materials to support teachers delivering the new courses.
	We continue to fund awarding bodies' support which has been expanded to include: provision of exemplar materials; feedback on the 2004 and 2005 external assessments; senior examiner and moderator centre visits focusing on schools' individual requirements.
	Vocational GCSEs were not included in the achievement and attainment tables before 2004 and so data for all of the last five years are not available.
	
		
			  Grade breakdown of vocational GCSE Engineering of pupils at the end of key stage 4( 1)  by grade, 2004-06( 2) 
			Grades obtained  
			  Gender  Total entries  A*A*  AA  BB  CC  DD  EE  FF  GG  U( 3)  X( 4)  A*A* to CC 
			  2004 
			 Male 4,809 8 94 349 688 853 891 778 558 495 95 1,139 
			 Female 246 3 14 45 46 42 39 27 16 10 4 108 
			 Total 5,055 11 108 394 734 895 930 805 574 505 99 1,247 
			  
			  2005 
			 Male 7,266 11 144 531 1,099 1,307 1,355 1,123 911 651 134 1,785 
			 Female 333 5 20 48 69 62 47 36 24 15 7 142 
			 Total 7,599 16 164 579 1,168 1,369 1,402 1,159 935 666 141 1,927 
			  
			  2006 
			 Male 8,580 16 210 704 1,434 1,667 1,649 1,288 854 692 66 2,364 
			 Female 350 2 22 51 69 65 46 35 33 23 4 144 
			 Total 8,930 18 232 755 1,503 1,732 1,695 1,323 887 715 70 2,508 
			 (1 )Pupils at the end of key stage 4 in the academic year. (2 )Data for 2006 are revised. Data for other years are final. (3) Grade U refers to pupils who are ungraded or unclassified. (4) Grade X includes absent or results pending.

Sandwich Courses

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his estimate is of the changes in the last five years in the number of four year degree courses available that involve the student working outside university for a year.

Bill Rammell: The latest available data for the academic years 2001-02 to 2005-06 are given in the table.
	Figures are not available on the number of courses available therefore figures on the number of students enrolling on four year degree courses that involve the student on an industrial or other placement for a year have been given.
	
		
			  Students enrolling on any four year, first degree sandwich course—English higher education institutions—and the number of students actually on an industrial or other placement( 1)  in that year 
			  Academic year  Number of students  Of which: number of students on placement 
			 2001-02 91,280 (2)— 
			 2002-03 88,285 14,295 
			 2003-04 85,620 14,375 
			 2004-05 86,090 15,015 
			 2005-06 84,000 15,190 
			 (1 )Covers students on an industrial (or other placement). (2) In 2001-02 students on industrial placements could not be identified separately from those studying abroad for the year as a whole.  Note: Figures are on a HESA standard registration population and are rounded to the nearest five.  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)

School Exclusions

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of children in  (a) St. Albans and  (b) Hertfordshire (i) given a fixed-term exclusion from school and (ii) permanently excluded from school in the last period for which figures are available had an (A) statemented and (B) non-statemented special educational need.

Parmjit Dhanda: The available information is given in the table.
	
		
			  Maintained primary, secondary and special schools ( 1, 2) : number of permanent and fixed period exclusions by special educational needs (SEN) ( 3 ) 2004/05 
			   Fixed period exclusions  Permanent exclusions( 3) 
			   Number  Percentage( 4)  Number ( 4) Percentage 
			  St. Albans parliamentary constituency 
			 Pupils with statements of SEN 58 14.0 (6)— (6)— 
			 Pupils with SEN without statements 82 4.0 10 0.49 
			 Pupils with no SEN 887 5.8 9 0.06 
			 Total (5) 1,030 5.8 20 0.11 
			  
			  Hertfordshire local authority area 
			 Pupils with statements of SEN 491 12.2 14 0.35 
			 Pupils with SEN without statements 1,325 5.8 141 0.62 
			 Pupils with no SEN 4,915 3.3 107 0.07 
			 Total (5) 6,730 3.8 260 0.15 
			 (1) For permanent exclusions includes maintained and non-maintained special schools. (2) For fixed period exclusions includes maintained special schools, excludes non-maintained special schools. (3) There are known quality issues with the permanent exclusions data reported by schools. The numbers shown here are as reported by schools and are unconfirmed. (4) The number of exclusions expressed as a percentage of the total number of pupils supported by the same SEN provision. (5) Totals have been rounded to the nearest 10. There may be discrepancies between the sum of constituent items and totals as shown. (6) 1 or 2 exclusions, or a rate based on 1 or 2 exclusions  Source:  School Census

Statemented Children

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children in  (a) North Yorkshire and  (b) City of York were given a statemented education in each of the last five years ; and if he will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  All schools( 1) : pupils with statements of SEN 2002-06, based on where the pupil attends school—North Yorkshire and York local authorities 
			  Position in January each year 
			   North Yorkshire  York 
			Pupils with statements   Pupils with statements 
			   Total pupils  Number  Percentage  Total pupils  Number  Percentage 
			 2002 96,239 2,533 2.6 27,284 792 2.9 
			 2003 96,197 2,541 2.6 27,067 699 2.6 
			 2004 95,285 2,346 2.5 27,096 735 2.7 
			 2005 95,049 2,198 2.3 26,861 650 2.4 
			 2006 94,030 2,021 2.1 26,530 510 1.9 
			 (1) Includes nursery, primary, middle, secondary, independent and special schools, pupil referral units, city technology colleges. From 2003 includes academies.  Source: Schools' Census

University Students: Essex

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of  (a) 18 and  (b) 19-year-olds from Essex joined university courses in each of the last five years.

Bill Rammell: The latest available figures on participation in higher education by local authority were published by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) in January 2005 in "Young Participation in England", which is available from their website at http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/hefce/2005/05_03/
	This report shows participation rates for young people who enter higher education aged 18 or 19, disaggregated by local authority, for the years 1997 to 2000. The figures for Essex local authority, and the comparable figure for England, are shown in the table. HEFCE have not produced participation rates beyond 2000.
	
		
			  Young participation rate (YPR (A)) in higher education( 1)  for year cohort aged 18 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000 
			 Cohort for Essex(2) 15,620 15,950 15,980 15,130 
			 Young Participation Rate (A) for Essex(3 )(percentage) 27 26 27 28 
			 Young Participation Rate (A) for England (percentage) 29.2 28.8 29.2 29.9 
			 (1) Covers all students studying higher education courses at UK higher education institutions and other UK institutions, for example further education colleges. (2) Cohorts are reported to the nearest 10. (3) Young participation rates for constituencies are reported to the nearest percentage.  Source: Higher Education Funding Council for England. 
		
	
	The total number of undergraduate entrants to UK higher education institutions from Essex local authority for each year since 2001/02 are given in the table.
	
		
			  Entrants to undergraduate courses( 1)  from Essex local authority 
			   2001/02  2002/03  2003/04  2004/05  2005/06 
			 Aged 18 3,245 3,385 3,375 3,480 3,755 
			 Aged 19 1,560 1,615 1,555 1,595 1,650 
			 Other Ages(2) 8,825 8,340 8,415 9,600 7,700 
			 Total Entrants 13,630 13,340 13,340 14,675 13,105 
			 (1) Covers all students studying higher education courses at UK higher education institutions only. Students studying higher education courses elsewhere such as further education colleges are excluded. (2) Includes a very small number of students with unknown ages or ages under 18.  Note: Figures are based on the HESA standard registration population for entrants and have been rounded to the nearest 5, so components may not sum to totals.  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). 
		
	
	The Department uses the higher education initial participation rate (HEIPR) to assess progress on increasing first-time participation of English students aged 18 to 30 in higher education towards 50 per cent.: the latest provisional figure for 2004/05 is 42 per cent. The HEIPR is not calculated at local authority level.

Visually Impaired Children

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many visually impaired children are in education in  (a) Milton Keynes and  (b) England.

Parmjit Dhanda: The information requested is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Maintained primary and secondary schools and special schools: number of pupils with statements of SEN or at School Action Plus whose type of need is visual impairment( 1, 2) , January 2006, England and Milton Keynes local authority 
			   Pupils with statements of SEN or at School Action Plus by their primary type of need 
			   Primary schools( 3)  Secondary schools( 3)  Special schools( 4) 
			   Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 England(5) 3,750 1.3 3,070 1.4 940 1.1 
			 Milton Keynes 16 1.1 12 1.1 0 0.0 
			 (1) Pupils at School Action Plus and those pupils with a statement of SEN provided information on their primary need and, if appropriate, their secondary need. Information on primary need only is given here. Information is not collected on pupils with different types of need who are supported in school at School Action. (2) Excludes dually registered pupils. (3) Includes middle schools as deemed. (4) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools. Excludes general hospital schools. (5) National totals have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: Schools' Census.

Military Aircraft

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times  (a) Harrier,  (b) Jaguar,  (c) Tornado GR4 and  (d) Typhoon aircraft have been cannibalised in the last 12 months.

Adam Ingram: The removal of serviceable parts from one aircraft for use on another is a short-term, temporary measure to ensure that the maximum number of aircraft are available to the front line.
	The number of these instances over the last 12 months is given in the following table.
	
		
			  Aircraft type  Number of cannibalisations 
			 Harrier (1)1,105 
			 Jaguar 66 
			 Tornado GR4 2,048 
			 Typhoon 481 
			 (1) Statistics for Harrier aircraft operating in Afghanistan are not available for the period requested as information was not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost and by diverting staff from operational support tasks. As of 1 January 2007 instances of the cannibalisation of Harrier aircraft in Afghanistan are being recorded centrally.

Coastal Towns

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what action her Department  (a) has undertaken and  (b) is planning to undertake to improve the (i) economic competitiveness and (ii) quality of life for residents of coastal towns, with particular reference to sporting and cultural activities and amenities.

David Lammy: The programmes supporting sporting and cultural provision offered by my Department and its non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) are available in all towns of England, including coastal towns.
	Some examples of the many actions we have undertaken or plan to improve the (i) economic competitiveness and (ii) quality of life for residents of coastal towns include:
	The investment we make through Visit Britain to support its promotional expenditure, promotes and contributes to the visitor economy of Britain as a whole, including coastal towns.
	We have invested in a number of large scale projects such as leisure centres, multi-sport facilities etc in coastal towns around England through Sport England's community investment fund and Active England funding since 2005.
	We recognise that the reuse and restoration of historic buildings and areas is a way of achieving a sense of place and local identity. Restoring the historic environment creates jobs and helps underpin local economies.
	The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has funded 655 projects totalling £250.7 million in English coastal resorts. Many HLF funding schemes have complemented or levered in extra funding from regional development agencies, the single regeneration budget and the European regional development fund. HLF funding has also benefited other seaside towns including former mining and fishing towns.
	There have been 520 lottery awards in the Hartlepool constituency, with at total value of over £28.2 million since 1 May 1997, the most notable award being one of just over £4 million from HLF towards the restoration of HMS Trincomalee. These have generated partnership funding of approximately a further £24 million.
	The Regional Screen Agencies are actively involved in programmes in coastal towns and areas, including encouraging filming, supporting film festivals and supporting a range of community education projects. These help encourage more production to film there, and raise the profile of these areas.
	The Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy will be the venue for the Olympic and Paralympic sailing events in 2012. Hosting the games will provide enhanced facilities on the site that will provide an outstanding sailing legacy for all levels, from beginner to world class including disabled. The development will also act as a catalyst for the continued regeneration of the area.

Consultants

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the total cost was to  (a) Sport England,  (b) her Department and  (c) UK Sport of the use of consultants in 2005-06.

Richard Caborn: The total cost of consultants to Sport England, Department for Culture, Media and Sport and UK Sport in 2005-06 is as follows:
	
		
			  2005-06 
			   £ 
			 Sport England 1,501,202 
			 Department for Culture, Media and Sport 1,161,338 
			 UK Sport 435,000 
			 Total 3,097,540

Correspondence

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many letters were received by her Department from hon. Members in each of the last 12 months; how many such letters were responded to within  (a) 10 and  (b) 20 days of receipt; how many were answered after 20 days from the date of receipt; and if she will make a statement.

David Lammy: In the last 12 months the Department received 4,199 letters from hon. Members, broken down by month as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 January 2006 335 
			 February 2006 389 
			 March 2006 448 
			 April 2006 317 
			 May 2006 367 
			 June 2006 407 
			 July 2006 347 
			 August 2006 313 
			 September 2006 301 
			 October 2006 383 
			 November 2006 313 
			 December 2006 279 
			 Total 4,199 
		
	
	It is not possible to provide details of the dates that responses were sent in the format requested without incurring disproportionate cost. However, the Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of departments in replying to Members/Peers correspondence. The report for 2005 was published on 30 March 2006,  Official Report, columns 75-78WS.

Digital Switchover

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the effect of digital switchover on energy consumption levels.

Margaret Hodge: I have been asked to reply.
	Digital switchover is expected to have an impact on both transmitter power usage and consumer power usage.
	Digital transmission is more efficient than analogue in terms of power usage. Replacing the analogue terrestrial transmission network with a nationwide digital terrestrial television network will lead to a significant net reduction in energy usage by the transmission networks, estimated to be 186 GWh per year.
	Consumer power usage is expected to rise as a result of switchover, primarily because of the rapid increase in the take-up of set-top boxes, particularly for second sets, which would not be otherwise converted until replaced. The predicted level of the increase is dependent on a number of assumptions about the usage and the design of equipment in the market at the time of switchover. DCMS, DTI and DEFRA economists have estimated that the increase in consumer energy use attributable to switchover in 2012 is likely to be between 966 GWh and 2,816 GWh per annum. The increase is equivalent to a 0.37 per cent. increase in domestic electricity consumption.
	The central estimate for the total impact of switchover is a net increase of 1,705 GWh per year, but this would be reduced if industry makes more energy-efficient products. Work on this is being taken forward as part of the DTI usability action plan.
	Further details are contained in the 'Regulatory and Environmental Impact Assessment: The timing of digital switchover', published on 16 September 2005. This was placed in the Libraries of the House at the time of publication, and is also available at http://www.digitaltelevision.gov.uk/consultations/con_ria_timingods.html

Digital Switchover

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her estimate is of the number of households which will qualify for assistance in switching over to digital television in  (a) Coventry and  (b) the West Midlands.

Shaun Woodward: The details are in the table.
	
		
			  Constituency  Households (defined as eligible benefit units) 
			 Aldridge-Brownhills 11,000 
			 Birmingham, Edgbaston 10,000 
			 Birmingham, Erdington 13,000 
			 Birmingham, Hall Green 10,000 
			 Birmingham, Hodge Hill 10,000 
			 Birmingham, Ladywood 10,000 
			 Birmingham, Northfield 10,000 
			 Birmingham, Perry Barr 11,000 
			 Birmingham, Selly Oak 11,000 
			 Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath 12,000 
			 Birmingham, Yardley 9,000 
			 Bromsgrove 10,000 
			 Burton 11,000 
			 Cannock Chase 12,000 
			 Coventry North East 12,000 
			 Coventry North West 13,000 
			 Coventry South 12,000 
			 Dudley North 12,000 
			 Dudley South 10,000 
			 Halesowen and Rowley Regis 11,000 
			 Hereford 12,000 
			 Leominster 12,000 
			 Lichfield 9,000 
			 Ludlow 10,000 
			 Meriden 11,000 
			 Mid Worcestershire 11,000 
			 Newcastle-under-Lyme 11,000 
			 North Shropshire 12,000 
			 North Warwickshire 11,000 
			 Nuneaton 11,000 
			 Redditch 8,000 
			 Rugby and Kenilworth 11,000 
			 Shrewsbury and Atcham 11,000 
			 Solihull 13,000 
			 South Staffordshire 10,000 
			 Stafford 10,000 
			 Staffordshire Moorlands 11,000 
			 Stoke-on-Trent Central 11,000 
			 Stoke-on-Trent North 11,000 
			 Stoke-on-Trent South 14,000 
			 Stone 10,000 
			 Stourbridge 10,000 
			 Stratford-on-Avon 12,000 
			 Sutton Coldfield 10,000 
			 Tamworth 10,000 
			 Telford 10,000 
			 The Wrekin 11,000 
			 Walsall North 12,000 
			 Walsall South 10,000 
			 Warley 10,000 
			 Warwick and Leamington 12,000 
			 West Bromwich East 11,000 
			 West Bromwich West 12,000 
			 West Worcestershire. 12,000 
			 Wolverhampton North East 10,000 
			 Wolverhampton South East 10,000 
			 Wolverhampton South West 11,000 
			 Worcester 10,000 
			 Wyre Forest 12,000 
			   
			 West Midlands Government Office Area 645,000 
			  Notes: 1. Totals rounded to the nearest thousand. 2. Eligibility for help from the Digital Switchover Help Scheme will be by benefit unit rather than the whole household definition used by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLC) the Scottish Executive, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Northern Ireland Office to forecast future household growth. 3. The definition of a benefit unit is a couple and any dependent children. It excludes adults deemed to be non-dependents who, if eligible, will be able to claim assistance from the Help Scheme in their own right.

National Lottery

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding the Big Lottery Fund has provided for sports programmes and projects in  (a) London and  (b) Bexley borough since 2004-05.

Richard Caborn: The Big Lottery Fund has made the following awards in London and Bexley borough through its programmes which specifically benefit sport since 2004-05:
	
		
			  £ 
			   London  Of which: Bexley borough 
			 New opportunities for PE and sport 87,093,128 1,874,000 
			 Active England 14,465,000 148,709 
			 Out of school hours/school sports co-ordinators 4,861,398 0 
		
	
	Active England is a joint programme with Sport England—Big Lottery Fund has provided £77.5 million and Sport England £31 million.
	In addition the Big lottery Fund has also made various grants which benefit sport via its non sport programmes but the value of these is not known.

Olympic Games

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what events or initiatives are planned to ensure that the West Midlands is involved in the 2012 Olympic games.

Richard Caborn: The Government are committed to ensuring that the whole of the UK, including the West Midlands, can contribute to and benefit from the 2012 Olympic games and Paralympic games. We are working closely with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) and the Nations and Regions Group (NRG), chaired by Charles Allen, which brings together representatives from every nation and region. Each nation and region is developing its own plan to maximise the impact of the games in their area, as well as the wider opportunities to deliver a sustainable legacy from the games.
	The West Midlands Leadership Group for the 2012 games (the regional steering group) will be working with LOCOG to maximise the opportunities of the London 2012 Volunteering Strategy for the region. Advantage West Midlands, the regional development agency for the West Midlands, will also be hosting business opportunities workshops over the forthcoming months in partnership with West Midlands Business Council, including providing more detailed guidance on procurement opportunities.
	LOCOG is also developing its plans for how the Cultural Olympiad will be delivered in the regions, and has conducted a tour of the regions to establish how best to make the festival a truly UK-wide event. LOCOG's plans currently include a nationwide torch relay, and we are currently setting up the Legacy Trust, to support cultural and sporting programmes designed to support the games, across the UK. Coventry will also host the UK Schools games in 2007.
	LOCOG will be working, through the Nations And Regions Groups and through a comprehensive ticketing strategy to ensure that as many people as possible throughout the UK can participate in the games through attending events. Further detailed information regarding plans for future involvement and activities can be provided for the West Midlands by the relevant NRG co-ordinator, Jenny Drew (Culture West Midlands, The Regional Partnership Centre, Albert House, Quay Place, Edward Street, Birmingham, B1 2RA).

Sports Coaching

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much  (a) Exchequer and  (b) Lottery funding (i) was put into sports coaching in each year since 1997 and (ii) is expected to be committed in each year to 2012.

Richard Caborn: holding answer 15 January 2007
	It is not possible to provide all the information requested without incurring disproportionate costs. However, we are able to provide the following funding information:
	DCMS and DfES are spending nearly £70 million of exchequer funding on sports coaching between 2003-04 and 2007-08 to implement the key recommendations of the Coaching Task Force and support the National School Sport Strategy:
	
		
			  £ 
			   DCMS funding  DfES funding  Total 
			 2003-04 3,000,000 n/a 3,000,000 
			 2004-05 9,000,000 210,000 9,210,000 
			 2005-06 15,400,000 570,000 15,970,000 
			 2006-07 16,000,000 3,500,000 19,500,000 
			 2007-08 16,000,000 4,069,000 20,069,000 
			 Total 59,400,000 8,349,000 67,749,000 
			 n/a = not applicable 
		
	
	Exchequer funding beyond 2008 is subject to the outcome of the comprehensive spending review.
	UK Sport and Sport England advise that they have allocated the following amounts of exchequer funding to support sports coach UK(scUK) since 1997. This is additional to the Coaching Task Force funding received by scUK.
	
		
			  £ 
			   UK Sport funding  Sport England funding  Total 
			 1997-98 700,000 935,000 1,635,000 
			 1998-99 700,000 935,000 1,635,000 
			 1999-2000 770,000 935,000 1,705,000 
			 2000-01 745,000 935,000 1,680,000 
			 2001-02 745,000 935,000 1,680,000 
			 2002-03 745,000 935,000 1,680,000 
			 2003-04 715,000 935,000 1,650,000 
			 2004-05 500,000 1,055,000 1,555,000 
			 2005-06 500,000 1,050,000 1,550,000 
			 2006-07 500,000 1,055,000 1,555,000 
		
	
	UK Sport has allocated the following combined exchequer and lottery funding to the Elite Coach programme which aims to develop a new generation of elite coaches:
	
		
			  £ 
			   UK Sport—actual spend( 1)  UK Sport( 2) 
			 2004-05 402,000 — 
			 2005-06 688,000 — 
			 2006-07 — 1,205,000 
			 (1) To nearest thousand (2) Projected spend 
		
	
	UK Sport is also investing £215 million of combined exchequer and lottery funding in the Olympic and Paralympic World Class Pathway between 2005 and 2009. UK Sport estimate that around 20 per cent. of this funding is spent on sports coaching.
	Sport England advise that a number of their exchequer and lottery funding programmes and initiatives since 1997 will have benefited sports coaching, e.g. World Class Funding, Whole Sport Plans, Community Revenue, Community Capital and Community Investment Fund awards. It is not possible to disaggregate the specific amounts spent on coaching from the overall spending figures.

Wheelchair Basketball

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to help the Great Britain Wheelchair Basketball Association increase participation in wheelchair basketball.

Richard Caborn: Sport England, our non-departmental public body responsible for delivering our strategy on increasing participation, does not currently provide funding to the Great Britain Wheelchair Basketball Association. However, through Sport England and other key delivery partners including the National Governing Bodies, County Sports Partnerships and sports equity organisations, we continue to work towards delivering our public service agreement target to increase sports participation by 3 per cent. among disabled people by the year 2008.

Assets Recovery Agency

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the future of the Assets Recovery Agency in Northern Ireland.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 15 January 2007
	I announced in a written statement on 11 January 2007,  Official Report, column 21WS, the Government's plans to merge the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) with the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). Nothing in the new proposals will take away from our efforts in tackling organised crime in Northern Ireland through the recovery of assets. Our aim is that it will improve and enhance our efforts to do so.
	In recognition of the high profile, public confidence and success achieved by ARA in Northern Ireland in tackling organised crime and dealing with organised criminals, SOCA will have a designated officer responsible for asset recovery work in Northern Ireland, and there will be no diminution in the resources available for assets recovery work there.
	Subject to the passing of the necessary legislation the merger is likely to come into force from April 2008.

Asylum Seekers

Piara S Khabra: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers whose claims had been initially unsuccessful and who had exhausted their appeal rights have lodged new asylum applications since January 2004, broken down by  (a) nationality and  (b) sex.

Liam Byrne: A breakdown of new applications from asylum seekers whose claims were initially unsuccessful and who had exhausted their appeal rights, in the period 1 January 2004 to 19 December 2006 is included in the following table. This information is not part of published statistics. It is based on internal management information and is therefore subject to change.
	
		
			   Gender  
			  Country of origin  Female  Male  Total 
			 Afghanistan 10 70 80 
			 Algeria — 10 10 
			 Angola — 5 5 
			 Cameroon — 5 5 
			 China (Peoples Republic of China) — 5 5 
			 Colombia — 5 5 
			 Congo Democratic Republic 10 20 30 
			 Eritrea 35 30 65 
			 Ethiopia 10 — 10 
			 Iran 10 30 40 
			 Iraq — 5 5 
			 Ivory Coast (Cote D'Ivoire) 5 — 5 
			 Myanmar (Burma) — 5 5 
			 Nigeria — 5 5 
			 Pakistan 10 15 25 
			 Palestine — 5 5 
			 Russia — 5 5 
			 Rwanda — 5 5 
			 Serbia and Montenegro — 10 10 
			 Somalia 10 25 35 
			 Sri Lanka 5 30 35 
			 Sudan — 5 5 
			 Syria — 5 5 
			 Togo — 5 5 
			 Turkey 5 25 30 
			 Uganda 5 5 10 
			 Zimbabwe 10 10 20 
			 Other nationalities 15 35 50 
			 Total 140 380 520 
			  Note: Figures are provisional and rounded to the nearest five.

Asylum Seekers

Piara S Khabra: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what targets are set by his Department for reaching decisions on new applications for those peoples whose claims had been initially unsuccessful and had exhausted their appeal rights.

Liam Byrne: Where a failed asylum seeker who has exhausted their appeal rights submits further representations, it is the task of the caseworker to decide whether those representations amount to a fresh claim.
	We do not set specific targets for reaching decisions on these claims as they represent a very small number of cases. It is the aim of IND to consider and make decisions on applications within a reasonable time scale.

Asylum Seekers

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when investigations into a senior caseworker's conduct of asylum applications from Uganda will be completed.

Liam Byrne: Investigations into the allegations are continuing and will be completed as soon as we can be satisfied that all the issues raised have been appropriately considered.

Asylum Seekers

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department further to the replies of 19 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1944W, on asylum seekers, what factors led to the modification of the family indefinite leave to remain exercise by the replacement note of 12 June 2006; what steps were taken to publicise this change; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: We modified the terms of the family indefinite leave to remain exercise because as originally drafted the policy excluded families for non-recordable criminal offences, and did not make it explicit that compassionate factors could be taken in account.
	The revised policy document was published on the Home Office website. A letter outlining the principal changes was circulated to stakeholders, including the main representatives' organisations.

Asylum Seekers

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers accommodated in  (a) England,  (b) Cambridgeshire,  (c) Peterborough city council unitary authority and  (d) Peterborough constituency were granted (i) asylum and (ii) indefinite leave to remain in each of the last 10 years; and how many illegal immigrants who had been accommodated in each area were deported in each of the last 10 years.

Liam Byrne: Information on numbers of asylum applications and decision outcomes relating to asylum seekers in particular areas of the UK is unavailable as are statistics regarding the location of asylum seekers not in receipt of support from IND. The number of illegal immigrants deported from each area in the last 10 years is not available.
	The numbers of asylum seekers in receipt of support from IND, broken down by Government office region and local authority, are published on a quarterly and annual basis, as are asylum decisions in the UK as a whole. The latest publication covering the third quarter of 2006 is available on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html. Further breakdowns, of those in receipt of support from IND, by parliamentary constituency are also available from the Library of the House.

Data Protection

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reported incidences there have been of staff using legitimate access to databases to browse data for which they had no business requirement in each of the last five years.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 18 December 2006
	The following figures depict recorded instances of staff using their database access for reasons for which they had no business requirements:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2002 5 
			 2003 1 
			 2004 1 
			 2005 4 
			 2006 8 
		
	
	Responsibility for dealing with misconduct rests largely with line managers, who can deal with minor acts of misconduct informally, or commission investigations, and if appropriate take formal disciplinary action, such as issue warnings and authorise dismissal, for more serious acts. Such incidents may not be recorded centrally.

Disorder Penalty Notices

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance his Department has issued to police forces on the use of penalty notices for disorder in preference to other means of disposing of a particular offence.

Vernon Coaker: Under powers given by section six of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001, the Secretary of State has issued operational guidance on penalty notices for disorder (PNDS) to all police forces in England and Wales. The guidance sets out, among other things, the circumstances in which it is appropriate to issue a pnd and where it is not, for example where a victim may wish to seek compensation through the criminal courts. Although not legally binding, it is expected that officers will adhere to this guidance when considering whether or not to issue a PND.
	In addition, there is separate guidance to forces on the issue of pnds to young persons aged 16-17 years. There is also guidance to community support officers and to accredited persons on their powers to issue PNDS.

Disorder Penalty Notices

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were sentenced to  (a) a fine,  (b) a term of imprisonment and  (c) some other form of sanction for breach of a penalty notice for disorder in each of the last four years for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 18 January 2007
	Penalty notices for disorder (PNDs) were introduced under the provisions of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001. Under the PND scheme, police may issue a fixed penalty of either £50 or £80 for a range of minor disorder offences. The recipient of a PND has 21 days from the date of issue in which either to pay the fine or request a court hearing. Failure to do either will normally result in the PND being registered as a fine against the recipient at one and half times the penalty amount or, in exceptional circumstances, in proceedings against them for the penalty offence. No other sanction is currently available to deal with non-compliance of a PND.
	As the PND scheme was introduced during 2004 data are only available for 2004 and 2005. In 2004, 63,639 PNDs were issued of which 28,180 were registered as fines. In 2005, 146,481 PNDs were issued of which 62,174 were registered as fines.

DNA Database

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many and what percentage of criminal cases familial searching of the National DNA Database was conducted in 2006.

Joan Ryan: 115 familial searches were run on the National DNA Database in 2006. The number of cases is 113, as in two operations, two familial searches were carried out. The number of offences recorded for the year 2006 is not yet available. The number recorded in England and Wales for the year April 2005 to March 2006 is 5,742,600, so the percentage of cases in which familial searching is used is very small.

Dog Fouling and Litter

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) prosecutions have been made and  (b) fixed penalty notices have been issued by each local authority in Gloucestershire for (i) dog fouling and (ii) dropping of litter in each of the last three years.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 11 January 2007
	Data from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform on the number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts in Gloucestershire police force area for offences relating to the Dog (Fouling of Land) Act 1996, and the offence of depositing litter, for the years 2002 to 2005, are provided in Table one. This information is not collected at local authority level.
	The number of fixed penalty notices issued for the offence of dog fouling and dropping litter in all local authorities in Gloucestershire is provided in Table three. This data is submitted on an annual basis by local authorities to the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
	In addition, the penalty notice for disorder (PND) scheme was introduced in England and Wales in 2004. Under the scheme the police are able to issue to persons suspected of committing specified minor offences, including littering with a fixed penalty notice of £50. No admission of guilt is required and payment of the penalty discharges all liability to conviction for the offence. The number of PNDs issued for littering in Gloucestershire police force area for the years 2004-06 (January to June 2006 provisional data) can be found in Table two. PNDs cannot currently be issued for the offence of dog fouling.
	
		
			  Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for offences relating to Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996 in Gloucestershire police force area, 2003 -05( 1 ,2) 
			Proceeded against 
			  Statute  Offence  2003  2004  2005 
			 Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996 Sec.3. Dog defecates on designated land and person in charge of dog fails to remove faeces from land forthwith. 2 2 1 
			 Environmental Protection Act 1990 Sec.87. Depositing litter. 1 3 1 
			 Total  3 5 2 
			 1 These data are on the principal offence basis. 2 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Note: Court proceedings database is unable to separately identify those offences which relate to murder, manslaughter, common assault and battery to children or young persons under the age of 18. 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of Penalty Notices for Disorder issued for depositing and leaving litter in Gloucestershire police force area, 2004-06 
			   Depositing and leaving litter 
			 2004 — 
			 2005 2 
			 2006 (January to June 2006 Provisional data) 2 
			 Total 4 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) issued by Gloucestershire for dog fouling offences under the Dogs Fouling of Land Act 1996 and for Litter under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 
			   Local authority  Dog Fouling  Litter 
			 2002-03 Gloucester CC 0 0 
			 2003-04  0 0 
			 2004-05  1 1 
			 2005-06  0 4 
			 2002-03 Cheltenham 0 0 
			 2003-04  0 0 
			 2004-05  0 15 
			 2005-06  0 6 
			 
			 2002-03 Stroud 0 0 
			 2003-04  0 0 
			 2004-05  0 0 
			 2005-06  0 0 
			 
			 2002-03 Cotswold 0 0 
			 2003-04  0 0 
			 2004-05  0 0 
			 2005-06  0 0 
			 
			 2002-03 Forest of Dean 0 0 
			 2003-04  0 0 
			 2004-05  0 0 
			 2005-06  0 0 
			 
			 2002-03 Tewkesbury 0 0 
			 2003-04  0 0 
			 2004-05  0 0 
			 2005-06  0 0

Domestic Violence

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many murders resulting from domestic violence there were in each of the last 10 years; and how many people  (a) were charged with,  (b) pleaded guilty to charges of and  (c) were convicted for domestic violence offences in each of the last 10 years.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 12 December 2006
	Available information was published in 'Violent Crime Overview, Homicide and Gun Crime 2004/2005' (HOSB 02/06) and relates to currently recorded offences of homicide (murder, manslaughter and infanticide) where the relationship of the victim to the principal suspect includes current or former spouse or lover. See following table.
	
		
			  Homicides currently( 1)  recorded for all victims by relationship of victim to principal suspect—England and Wales 1994 to 2004-05 
			  Number (recorded crime) 
			   Partner/ex-partner  Total 
			 1994 131 632 
			 1995 131 663 
			 1996 118 585 
			 1997 130 609 
			 1997-98 131 608 
			 1998-99 103 646 
			 1999-2000 112 674 
			 2000-01 125 771 
			 2001-02 146 804 
			 2002-03 135 953 
			 2003-04 118 793 
			 2004-05 139 820 
			 (1) As at 28 November 2005. Figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available.  Source: Table 2.05 of HOSB 02/05 
		
	
	From the information collected centrally on recorded crime and court proceedings, it is not possible to identify cases of domestic violence. Such offences are not specifically defined by statute and details of the individual circumstances of offences are not collected by the Home Office.

Family Indefinite Leave to Remain

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many out of time applications have been received for the family indefinite leave to remain exercise since 31 December 2004; how many such applications have been granted; and what the Government's policy is on the length of time for which out of time applications will continue to be accepted.

Liam Byrne: Information on the number of out of time applications received by the family indefinite leave to remain (ILR) exercise since 31 December 2004 and the number of these subsequently granted ILR is unavailable and would be obtainable only by examination of individual case files, at disproportionate cost.
	As Beverley Hughes explained in her letter to MPs of 29 October 2003, the family indefinite leave to remain exercise is not an application-based exercise but one in which it is for the Immigration and Nationality Directorate to identify eligible families.
	We requested applications in 2004 to accelerate the process of identifying those who qualified, giving priority to applications submitted before 31 December 2004. Late applications were considered but not prioritised. We believe we have identified all families who might qualify under the exercise but will consider others if they come to light.
	Information on the family ILR exercise is published in quarterly web pages and in the annual statistical bulletin Asylum Statistics United Kingdom. Copies of these publications and others relating to general immigration to the UK are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html

Family Indefinite Leave to Remain

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases have been referred to the specialist unit responsible for assessing article eight cases from the family indefinite leave to remain exercise; and how many such cases have resulted in the granting of leave to remain.

Liam Byrne: Information on the number of cases referred to the Enforcement and Removals Directorate for consideration under Article eight from the Family ILR Exercise and the outcome of these cases is unavailable and would only be obtainable by examination of individual case files, at disproportionate cost.

Harmondsworth

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  when his Department asked for a payout from the contractor Kalyx with regard to its contractual failures at Harmondsworth detention centre;
	(2)  what the contractual failures at Harmondsworth detention centre were that led to the payout from the contractor Kalyx in September 2006.

Liam Byrne: The contract under which the Harmondsworth Removal Centre is occupied and managed by the contractor includes a dispute resolution procedure which is founded upon the Arbitration Act 1996. English law requires such disputes to remain confidential to the parties. Therefore, it is not open to the Secretary of State to disclose detail of the disputes without the consent of the other contracting party.
	The Secretary of State was able to disclose the amount of the settlement to Parliament. It should be noted that pursuant to the Lord Chancellor's pledge that Government Departments would utilise alternative dispute resolution wherever possible the parties entered into a mediation agreement with a senior member of the bar which agreement contained a confidentiality clause in line with the confidentiality attendant upon the arbitration of disputes. It follows that the Secretary of State cannot disclose detail of the contractual points in issue nor the date when they were first raised.

Identity Management

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reason it has been deemed necessary to co-ordinate government policy and strategy on identity management; and what benefits he expects to accrue from this decision.

Joan Ryan: Effective identity management is central to aligning public services around the citizen and realising the goal of joined-up and personalised government.

Offender Management

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what mechanisms he plans to put in place to provide for accountability of offender management services subcontracted to  (a) private and  (b) voluntary organisations.

Liam Byrne: Organisations subcontracted by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) to provide offender management services are held to account through the operation of the contracts awarded to them. Under these contracts, such organisations are required to deliver services against specified standards and are penalised for poor performance. NOMS headquarters provides advice to probation services on how best to procure offender services and manage contracts for such services.

Personnel Checks

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what background checks his Department carries out on prospective employees into political affiliation that may affect the conduct of their work.

Liam Byrne: Home Office pre-appointment checks do not require prospective employees to declare their political affiliation.

Police

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the value was per capita of  (a) Home Office police grants,  (b) revenue support grants and  (c) revenue from business rates allocated to police forces in (i) Devon and Cornwall and (ii) England and Wales in each year since 1992.

Tony McNulty: The information requested where available is set out in the table.
	Police forces outside England and Wales are the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Secretary of State for Wales, and the Scottish Executive.
	The following table shows the data for Devon and Cornwall Police.
	
		
			  £ per head 
			   Revenue support grant per head  Redistributed business rates per head  Principal formula police grant  per head 
			 1995-96 14.18 18.72 n/a 
			 1996-97 13.46 20.65 n/a 
			 1997-98 15.26 19.72 50.14 
			 1998-99 16.25 19.44 54,00 
			 1999-2000 17.07 20.89 56.59 
			 2000-01 15.23 23.15 58.00 
			 2001-02 16.81 22.97 60.17 
			 2002-03 14.13 24.91 59.70 
			 Amended 2003-04 24.32 14.20 63.76 
			 Amended 2004-05 26.58 13.60 64.68 
			 Amended 2005-06 24.89 16.25 66.90 
			 2006-07 7.12 36.90 60.68 
		
	
	The following table shows the data for all police authorities in England, including the City of London, Please note that the City of London has responsibility for all services except fire within its area. It is not possible to say how much revenue support grant or redistributed business rates the City received for police, since these are unhypothecated block grants.
	
		
			  £ per head 
			   Revenue support grant per head  Redistributed business rates per head  Principal formula police grant per head 
			 1995-96 28.11 18.74 n/a 
			 1996-97 27.22 20.67 n/a 
			 1997-98 28.67 19.74 64.37 
			 1998-99 29.79 20.71 72.11 
			 1999-2000 29.27 20.92 71.12 
			 2000-01 27.95 23.18 73.29 
			 2001-02 30.61 23.00 76.34 
			 2002-03 28.43 24.94 76.17 
			 Amended 2003-04 40.13 14.24 82.50 
			 Amended 2004-05 35.20 13.64 83.95 
			 Amended 2005-06 43.40 16.30 87.31 
			 2006-07 10.11 52.39 77.96 
		
	
	The measure of population which was used in calculating the appropriate settlement has been used to calculate the per head data i.e. for the period 1995-96 to 2005-06, the mid-year estimates (e.g. for 2005-06, the mid-2003 population estimates) and for 2006-07 the 2006 sub-national population projections.
	The data is not comparable year-on-year due to changes in the funding and function of authorities via the settlement. For example, in 2006-07 police pensions and security funding were transferred from police grant to special grant.
	 Source:
	Department for Communities and Local Government

Police

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding was allocated to police forces from  (a) his Department's police grants,  (b) revenue support grant and  (c) business rates (i) in Devon and Cornwall and (ii) on average for police authorities in England and Wales in each year since 1992.

Tony McNulty: The information requested where available is set out in the tables.
	The following table shows the data for Devon and Cornwall police.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Revenue support grant  Redistributed business rates  Principal formula police grant 
			 1995-96 21.645854 28.564237 n/a 
			 1996-97 20.634598 31.649599 n/a 
			 1997-98 23.529124 30.391789 77.286547 
			 1998-99 25.066602 29.990786 83.298731 
			 1999-2000 26,480707 32.417704 87.803745 
			 2000-01 23.740096 36.084001 90.407760 
			 2001-02 26.380103 36.055866 94.453687 
			 2002-03 22.427334 39.519130 94.722350 
			 Amended 2003-04 38.395894 22.409659 100.652998 
			 Amended 2004-05 42.268369 21.622144 102.855500 
			 Amended 2005-06 39.860113 26.014741 107.128539 
			 2006-07 11.657297 60.389360 99.312098 
		
	
	The following table shows the total data for all police authorities in England, including the City of London. Please note that the City of London has responsibility for all services except fire within Its area. It is not possible to say how much revenue support grant or redistributed business rates the City received for police, since these are unhypothecated block grants. For this reason it is not possible to provide an average for police services.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Revenue support grant  Redistributed business rates  Principal formula police grant 
			 1995-96 1,364.402953 909.433639 — 
			 1996-97 1,325.614389 1,006.781501 — 
			 1997-98 1,402.170448 965.322871 3,148.079868 
			 1998-99 1,462.450535 1,016.878085 3,539.811511 
			 1999-2000 1,442.342720 1,031.070720 3,505.318313 
			 2000-01 1,383.201424 1,147.206316 3,627.326830 
			 2001-02 1,522.932294 1,144.471886 3,798.253194 
			 2002-3 1,421.541069 1,247.174658 3,808.207933 
			 Amended 2003-4 1,984.608334 704.142795 4,079.553216 
			 Amended 2004-5 1,747.693924 677.146181 4,167.980717 
			 Amended 2005-6 2,163.778902 812.680263 4,352.685644 
			 2006-7 510.502465 2,644.602574 3,935.791054 
		
	
	The data is not comparable year-on-year due to changes in the funding and function of authorities via the settlement. For example, in 2006-07 police pensions and security funding were transferred from police grant to special grant.
	 Source:
	Department for Communities and Local Government

Prison Service

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made since the Report of HM Chief Inspector of Prisons in 2004-05 on tackling the use of wings not fit for habitation.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The National Offender Management Service takes seriously all recommendations made by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons. The maintenance and refurbishment of existing prison accommodation is managed as part of a rolling programme of work. Individual projects are considered for inclusion in the programme based on a number of factors, including the changing priorities of building plans across the prison estate and the availability of funds from a limited budget.
	HM Chief Inspector of Prisons made this comment in her 2004-05 report specifically in respect of HMP Norwich, which is being taken forward in 2007 as part of NOMS' wing refurbishment programme.

Prison Service

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Prison Service area managers have taken early retirement in each of the last three years; what the cost was of such retirements; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 15 January 2007
	The number of Prison Service area managers who have taken early retirement within the last three years is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of Prison Service managers taking early retirement in the last three years 
			  Calendar year  Number 
			 2004 1 
			 2005 1 
			 2006 1 
		
	
	The pension benefits and associated costs falling to the Department, and reasons for leaving in individual early retirement cases, is information considered personal and would therefore not be provided. The decision to consider and authorise early retirement, taken in these cases by Prison Service senior managers, was in accordance with the rules and criteria set out in the Civil Service Compensation scheme governing early retirement.

Prisons

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to increase the ease with which family members can book prison visits.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Procedures for booking visits from prison to prison and remain at the discretion of governors. However, in response to the difficulties in booking prison visits at a number of prisons, the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) has actively sought to improve visits booking facilities and procedures. This has been partly through the development of an electronic system for booking visits, which is available to prisons, and the publication of guidelines on practical ways of improving the arrangements. NOMS is also looking into the booking of visits by e-mail and in the longer term, a national fully integrated IT system to meet a number of business needs such as the management of visits booking.

Probation Service

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which  (a) private sector organisations and  (b) voluntary sector organisations have expressed an interest in undertaking work currently carried out by the probation service.

Gerry Sutcliffe: In August 2006, we published "Improving Prison and Probation Services: Public Value Partnerships", which outlined the vision for contestability and indicated the pace and scale of change envisaged in the delivery of services to adult offenders. In response to this publication we have received general expressions of interest and requests for further information from a number of organisations from the public, private and voluntary sectors.
	These expressions of interest have been received both informally via established contact forums and more formally via the recently established NOMS National Provider Network registration website. To date 374 VCS and 68 private sector organisations have registered an expression of interest via the website. However the website does not ask registrants whether they have a specific interest in undertaking work which is currently carried out by the probation service.
	Additionally, individual probation services will have been in contact with external organisations as part of their preparation of service delivery plans for 2007-08. Over the coming months, these plans will be the subject of discussion and negotiation with the NOMS commissioner for their region. Although the average value of contracts held are small, a recent survey indicated that the probation service as a whole currently holds more than 600 contracts/grants with external organisations, approximately 75 per cent. of which are from the voluntary and community sector.

Prostitution

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests there were by each police force of men who were attempting to buy sexual services on the street in the last period for which figures are available.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is not available centrally. Information on arrests is based on persons arrested for recorded crime (notifiable offences) by main offence group (i.e. sexual offences, theft and handling stolen goods, violence against the person, burglary etc.) and police force area within England and Wales. Information is therefore not available to the detail required.
	However, the following tables show the number of offenders cautioned and defendants found guilty at all courts for kerb crawling and soliciting offences, by gender and police force area in England and Wales in 2005.
	
		
			  Number of offenders cautioned and persons found guilty at all courts for kerb crawling and soliciting offences, by sex and police force area, England and Wales 2005( 1, 2) 
			   Cautions 
			   Kerb crawling  Persistent soliciting of women for the purposes of prostitution  Soliciting by a man 
			  Police force area  Male  Female  Male  Female  Male  Female 
			 Avon and Somerset 43 — 5 — — — 
			 Bedfordshire 9 — 10 — — — 
			 Cleveland 2 — — — — — 
			 Derbyshire 2 — — — — — 
			 Dorset — — — — 10 — 
			 Essex — — 1 — — — 
			 Greater Manchester 2 — — — — — 
			 Humberside 11 — — — — — 
			 Kent 4 — — — — — 
			 Lancashire 6 — 2 — — — 
			 Merseyside 1 — — — — — 
			 Metropolitan Police 8 — 2 — — — 
			 Norfolk — — — — 1 — 
			 Nottinghamshire 80 1 14 — 12 — 
			 South Yorkshire 31 — 2 — — — 
			 Suffolk 19 — — — — — 
			 Thames Valley — — 4 — — — 
			 West Midlands 39 — 2 — — — 
			 West Yorkshire 8 — — — — — 
			 South Wales 4 — — — — — 
			 England and Wales 269 1 42 — 23 — 
		
	
	
		
			   Convictions 
			   Kerb crawling  Persistent soliciting of women for the purposes of prostitution  Soliciting by a man 
			  Police force area  Male  Female  Male  Female  Male  Female 
			 Avon and Somerset 1 — — — — — 
			 Bedfordshire 1 — — — — — 
			 Cleveland 106 3 — — — — 
			 Derbyshire 16 — — — — — 
			 Essex 1 — — — — — 
			 Greater Manchester 7 1 9 — — — 
			 Hampshire 7 — — — — — 
			 Lancashire 2 — — — 1 — 
			 Merseyside 5 — 2 — — — 
			 Metropolitan Police 286 2 2 — 1 — 
			 Northamptonshire 42 — 1 — — — 
			 Nottinghamshire 16 — — — — — 
			 South Yorkshire 8 — 1 — — — 
			 Staffordshire 14 — 4 — — — 
			 Suffolk 5 — — — — — 
			 West Midlands 66 — 12 — — — 
			 West Yorkshire 45 — 3 — — — 
			 South Wales 1 — — — — — 
			 England and Wales 629 6 34 — 2 — 
			 (1) These data are provided on the principal offence basis (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police forces and courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: RDS—Office for Criminal Justice Reform Our Ref IOS 106-06

Turkey: EU Accession

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the implications for net migration to the UK of the possible accession by Turkey to the EU.

Liam Byrne: The Commission assessed the effects of Turkish membership on the EU including migration before the EU opened negotiations with Turkey. The UK Government have drawn on this in formulating its approach to Turkish membership.
	Any assessment of the implications for net migration to the UK would be affected by: the functioning of the countries' economies at the time of accession; the level of access granted to the UK labour market; and the decisions of other member states on labour market access. The issue of migration will be analysed in more detail during the accession negotiations and as the positions of the above factors become clearer, nearer the point of accession.

Cabinet Office: Foreign Travel

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the Cabinet Office's expenditure on foreign travel was, including accommodation, in  (a) 1996-97 and  (b) 2005-06.

Hilary Armstrong: For expenditure on ministerial travel, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister to the hon. Member for Blaby (Mr. Robathan) on 19 December 2006,  Official Report, column. 1808W.
	For civil servants, the Cabinet Office financial system does not differentiate between domestic and overseas travel. To establish these costs manually would incur disproportionate costs.
	All official travel in my Department is undertaken strictly in accordance with the rules contained in the Cabinet Office Management Code.

Community Channel

Tim Loughton: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether her Department has commissioned research on the number of people who watch the community channel.

Edward Miliband: The Cabinet Office has not commissioned research on the number of people who watch the community channel as they are provided by BARB (Broadcasters Audience Research Board). Figures from BARB for 2006 show that between 1.4 and 2.3 million viewers watched the community channel per month.

Community Channel

Tim Loughton: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what her estimate is of the number of people who watched the community channel in each of the last 12 months.

Edward Miliband: The community channel broadcasts 24 hours a day, every day on Sky 539, ntl: Telewest 233 and from 6-9 am on Freeview 87. The number of viewers for the last 12 months are as follows:
	
		
			  2006  Number of viewers 
			 January 2,355,000 
			 February 1,897,000 
			 March 2,021,000 
			 April 2,127,000 
			 May 1,998,000 
			 June 1,473,000 
			 July 1,938,000 
			 August 2,204,000 
			 September 2,185,000 
			 October 1,804,000 
			 November 1,668,000 
			 December 1,993,000 
		
	
	These figures are from BARB (Broadcasters Audience Research Board). The channel's best programmes are also available 24 hours a day, seven days a week via its online video player at video.communitychannel.org

Statistics

Theresa May: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the process is for deciding the date of publication of statistics prepared by or relating to her Department; and who is involved in that process.

Hilary Armstrong: The National Statistics code of practice (2002)—which serves as a model for all public sector statistical work—established the principle that 'final responsibility for the content, format and timing of release of National Statistics' rests with the head of profession for statistics in each department. In reaching their decisions, heads of profession take into consideration the detailed procedural guidance given in the "National Statistics Protocol on Release Practices".
	Copies of the code and its 12 supporting protocols are available in the Library for the reference of Members and can also be accessed using the following address:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/about/national_statistics/cop/default.asp

V Charity

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much in public funds has been spent on the charity v.

Edward Miliband: The Government announced in Budget 2005 that up to £100 million of public funds would be available for funding the Russell Commission framework through v over the period of 2006-09. The Cabinet Office has £50 million to implement the 16 Russell Commission recommendations, most of which will go to v. A small amount is being retained by the Cabinet Office to support the implementation of recommendations which the Government are responsible for. The Treasury will match fund money v raises from the private sector on a pound for pound basis up to a maximum of £50 million.
	The charity v has received funding from the Cabinet Office, through the Office of the Third Sector, to cover three specific project grants in addition to the strategic funding which covers management and administration costs. Additionally, through the match funding scheme, v has received public funds from the Treasury Reserve to match funding provided by the private sector.
	v has received, up to 5 January 2006, grants covering the following:
	
		
			   £ 
			 Volunteering opportunities projects 3,737,500 
			 Marketing and communications 1,770,000 
			 Web portal development 2,285,000 
			 Strategic funding 2,000,000 
			 Match funding projects 3,642,334 
		
	
	v has also raised pledges from the private sector over £17 million.
	The volunteering opportunities project grant has to date resulted in the creation of over 42,000 volunteering opportunities. This funding enabled v to undertake a range of volunteering opportunities v project funding round for short-term, part-time, and long-term projects, as well as the development of volunteer development teams. These programmes provide opportunities for young people to engage with their community, develop skills, increase confidence, meet other young people, reduce feelings of social exclusion and extend their opportunities for training and/or employment. Over 19,000 volunteering opportunities are expected to be provided through the match funding projects.

ASEAN

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations she has made in support of the ASEAN proposed convention on counter-terrorism; and what steps she is taking to call for  (a) improved cooperation among ASEAN members,  (b) sharing of intelligence and counter-terrorism training and  (c) improved efforts to stop terrorism financing.

Kim Howells: We welcome the efforts the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its member states are making to counter international terrorism. We work closely with the ASEAN nations to counter terrorism through the provision of operational training and assistance to enhance the counter terrorism capabilities of individual South East Asian nations. We work on a bilateral basis rather than through the ASEAN forum.

Asia Task Force

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the budget of the Asia Task Force was for the last 12 months; what activities it has undertaken; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: The Asia Task Force itself has no allocated budget. Its recommendations are taken forward through UK Trade and Industry (UKTI) directing resources within its diplomatic network in Asia and offices in the UK, and its programme budgets in support of business in the UK, to priority areas the taskforce has asked it to address.
	The taskforce is an important forum for consulting business on how best to boost UK business engagement in Asian markets. Since its inception in October 2005, the taskforce has discussed and made recommendations on the challenges faced by UK companies operating in Asian markets and how to raise awareness among UK companies of the potential opportunities in these emerging markets.
	The taskforce has commissioned three research reports to explore differing aspects of UK-Asian Trade. This research, along with the experience of taskforce members, has informed the development of UKTI's new five year strategy: directing the focus onto large and medium sized companies in addition to its existing work with small businesses to ensure UKTI helps a wider range of companies, and instigating a shift in resources towards emerging markets. It has also led to the development of a programme which will target and support 950 mid-corporate companies who are not sufficiently engaged with Asia and who are not currently served by UKTI.
	Current Asia Task Force projects include:
	research to map the UK's sectoral strengths against demand in emerging Asian economies;
	intellectual property rights business to business forums to demonstrate the benefits of strong intellectual property protection to indigenous companies in emerging Asian markets;
	outreach events within the UK to raise awareness of the business opportunities presented by emerging Asian markets; and
	case studies of UK companies doing business in China to inform potential exporters/investors of the key issues involved.

Bermuda Regiment

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many conscripts from the Bermuda Regiment have served outside Bermuda since 2000.

Geoff Hoon: Officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have been in touch with the Bermuda Regiment who have advised that no conscript has been sent on service outside Bermuda. Since 2000, over 1,700 conscripts and volunteers have been sent on military training exercises or military training courses in overseas locations. These range from performing in the 2003 Edinburgh Tattoo to volunteering to participate in the post-hurricane cleanup in the Cayman Islands after Hurricane Ivan in 2004.

Bermuda Regiment

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of  (a) the decision of the Governor of Bermuda to continue conscription to the Royal Bermuda Regiment for males and  (b) its impact on the UK Government's policies on (i) ethical foreign policy, (ii) equality policies and gender discrimination and (iii) UK equality legislation on the action of her Department's stewardship of Overseas Territories.

Geoff Hoon: There is widespread support in Bermuda for compulsory military service in the event of voluntary enlistment proving inadequate. In an independent public survey in Bermuda taken in 2004, 79 per cent. of those surveyed supported the continuation of conscription as currently practiced. Both political parties, the governing Progressive Labour Party and the opposition United Bermuda Party, have expressed their support of conscription. Bermuda has used conscription since 1957.
	The Government see no conflict between our foreign and domestic policies and the Bermuda Defence Act.

Iraq

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions her Department has had with the Iraqi Government on the observation of the human rights of women in Iraq; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: Officials from our embassy in Baghdad, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and my right hon. Friend the Member for the Cynon Valley (Ann Clwyd), as Special Envoy to the Prime Minister for Human Rights in Iraq, regularly raise women's rights with the Iraqi Government at all levels. The Iraqi Constitution provides that all people should be treated equally irrespective of their gender, race or ethnicity and includes additional provisions specifically to protect the rights of women. We are actively supporting the Government of Iraq on developing policies and legislation in line with these provisions including through work with the Ministries for Human Rights and Women's Affairs.
	Iraqi parliamentarians, women's rights activists and women's groups have told us about problems with women's access to employment and education, threats and assassinations of women professionals, the enforced wearing of the veil and other socially conservative forms of dress, and gender based violence including honour killings and female genital mutilation.
	We are concerned about these issues and the impact of continued violence on all Iraqis. We will continue to support the Iraqi Government, security forces, judiciary and civil society organisations to develop a more secure country with a representative government able to work for all Iraqis.

North Africa

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with her EU counterparts on immigration from North Africa into  (a) Malta and  (b) the Canary Islands.

Geoff Hoon: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and other Ministers, including myself, have had discussions on a number of occasions with European counterparts about immigration from North Africa into Malta and the Canary Islands, including in the context of broader discussions on migration at General Affairs and External Relations Councils. Ongoing contacts continue at official and Ministerial level.

Parliamentary Questions

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many parliamentary questions were tabled to her Department in 2006, broken down by  (a) ordinary written and  (b) named day; what percentage of ordinary written questions were answered within 10 working days; and what percentage of named day questions were answered by the specified date.

Margaret Beckett: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office were tabled 4,333 parliamentary questions in 2006. The following tables show a break down of ordinary written and named day questions:
	
		
			  Parliamentary Question  Total  Total number of questions answered within 10 days  Percentage of questions answered within 10 days 
			 Ordinary written question 3,595 3,277 91 
		
	
	
		
			  Parliamentary Question  Total  Total number of questions answered on the specified date  Percentage of questions answered on the specified date 
			 Named day question 738 571 77

Philippines

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether she has received recent reports of activity of the Abu Sayyaf terrorist organisation in the Philippines.

Kim Howells: We receive reports on the activities of terrorist organisations in South East Asia, including the Abu Sayyaf Group on a regular basis.

Sri Lanka

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations she has made to the Government of Sri Lanka on the human rights of the Tamil minority in that country; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The UK is deeply concerned about the continuing deterioration of the human rights situation and the increasing violence in Sri Lanka. In particular, the impact of continuing violence and military actions by the Sri Lankan Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on the civilian population. This has already claimed the lives of at least 40 civilians this year.
	We strongly endorse the UN's recent call for all civilians in Sri Lanka to be protected. We understand that there are at least 15,000 civilians in the Vakarai area who are in a desperate situation. As a minimum, there should be a cessation of hostilities around Vakarai to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to send in humanitarian supplies to the people there.
	Both the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE must cease military action and implement the agreements they had reached to reduce the violence. Recent incidents demonstrate that neither side is protecting the civilian population. We urge them to return to the negotiating table in order to prevent further deterioration of the security situation and the needless loss of more lives.
	On 10 January, my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs, Ian McCartney, who has responsibility for human rights in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, reiterated our concerns at a meeting with his Sri Lankan ministerial counterpart. My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development, Gareth Thomas, also raised these issues with the visiting Minister.

CFOA (Services) Ltd.

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what payments were made by  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies to CFOA (Services) Ltd in each of the financial years for which figures are available; what the purpose was of each payment; what payments the Department has agreed to make in future; and for what purpose in each case.

Angela Smith: Payments made by this Department, or its predecessor Departments, to CFOA (Services) Ltd. have been as follows during recent financial years:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2002-03 82,839.11 
			 2003-04 158,311.62 
			 2004-05 358,847.45 
			 2005-06 13,324.97 
			 2006-07 5,043.69 
		
	
	The main purposes for payments included support to infrastructure and communications, co-ordinating working groups to carry out strategic project work, attendances at conferences, and payment of part of the annual grant in respect of the Practitioners' Forum. Records for the attribution of individual payments are not retrievable within the time available.
	The Department does not currently have in place any agreements to make further grant payments to CFOA (Services) Limited in the future.
	Payments have been made to CFOA (Services) Limited by the Fire Service College, as an agency of the Department, as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2002-03 5,017.25 
			 2003-04 5,017.25 
			 2004-05 5,763.38 
			 2005-06 44,875.80 
			 2006-07 1,354.78 
		
	
	The main purposes for payments were subscriptions and attendances at conferences. In 2005-06 a staff secondment was also involved.

Domestic Violence

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what funding her Department has provided for high-security safe rooms to be built in the homes of victims of domestic violence.

Meg Munn: Decisions about funding Sanctuary Schemes are local decisions and local authorities have a number of funding options available to them. For example, schemes could be funded through a local authority's Private Sector Renewal Strategy, in the case of social housing the funding could come from the landlord. The police or the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership may have grants, or one off funding to target crime reduction which could be directed to funding Sanctuary Schemes.
	My Department has allocated £47.2 million to local authorities to help them further tackle and prevent homelessness in their area for 2007-08. They may choose to use a proportion of this money to fund Sanctuary Schemes. A survey conducted by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister found that 120 local authorities already had a Sanctuary Scheme in place and that a further 165 local authorities were planning to have one in place by the end of March 2007.
	Guidance published entitled "Options for Setting Up a Sanctuary Scheme" covers funding issues.

Government Office for London

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many staff worked for the Government Office for London in  (a) 1997 and  (b) 2006.

Angela Smith: The Government Office for London staffing figures for 1997 and 2006 are as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 1997 (1)274 
			 2006 (2)273 
			 (1) March (2) This is based on staffing levels as at 31 December 2006. In line with the Treasury review of the GO network, GOL plans to reduce its staffing to approximately 250 by December 2008.

Local Government Finance

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the total amount of borrowing on  (a) council housing and  (b) arm's length management organisations was in each year since 1990; what proportion of the public spending borrowing requirement this represents in each year; and what estimate she has made of each for the next 10 years.

Yvette Cooper: The net amount of borrowing on council housing and arm's length management organisations since 1992-93, as well as the proportion of public sector net borrowing that represents for each year, is set out in the following table.
	
		
			   Net HRA borrowing (£)  ALMO borrowing (£)  Public sector net borrowing (PSNB) (£)  HRA borrowing/PSNB (percentage)  ALMO Borrowing/PSNB (percentage) 
			 1992-93 — — 46,716,000,000 — — 
			 1993-94 347,455,678 — 51,054,000,000 0.68 — 
			 1994-95 431,792,337 — 43,271,000,000 1.00 — 
			 1995-96 -170,209,016 — 34,713,000,000 -0.49 — 
			 1996-97 -435,801,552 — 27,170,000,000 -1.60 — 
			 1997-98 -504,249,410 — 6,374,000,000 -7.91 — 
			 1998-99 -678,146,182 — -4,017,000,000 16.88 — 
			 1999-2000 -542,751,024 — -16,251,000,000 3.34 — 
			 2000-01 -880,453,782 — -19,896,000,000 4.43 — 
			 2001-02 -14,679,989 — 921,000,000 -1.59 — 
			 2002-03 -1,166,619,645 56,000,000 24,916,000,000 -4.68 0.22 
			 2003-04 -2,415,662,009 321,000,000 34,094,000,000 -7.09 0.94 
			 2004-05 -1,120,419,927 577,000,000 39,189,000,000 -2.86 1.47 
			 2005-06 418,022,901 854,000,000 37,516,000,000 1.11 2.28 
			 2006-07 1,212,183,164 845,000,000 35,848,615,071 3.38 2.36 
			  Notes:  1. The Arm's Length Management Organisation (ALMO) borrowing shown is the level of borrowing supported by the Government, rather than the actual level of borrowing entered into by the local authority. It is part of, rather than additional to, council house borrowing. 2. From 2001-02 onwards the Department did not collect data on local authority borrowing for council housing from those authorities with no notional housing debt (used in calculating HRA subsidy entitlement) 
		
	
	The figures are unaudited and based on claims submitted by local authorities. Communities and Local Government cannot provide forecasts beyond the end of 2007-08 because that would pre-judge CSR07 and subsequent spending reviews.

Millennium Dome

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many staff work full-time on the Millennium Dome territory, as referred to on page 127 of her Department's annual report for 2006, broken down by pay grade.

Angela Smith: English Partnerships have 11 (full-time equivalents) staff members working on Greenwich Peninsula Projects, including the Greenwich Millennium Village. Of these, three are support staff, two are pier managers and one is a security manager. The remaining five cover specialist roles including development and estate management. In addition, an area director at English Partnerships includes within his responsibilities delivery of the Meridian Delta Ltd and Anschutz Entertainment Group scheme.

Neighbourhood Renewal

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding each neighbourhood renewal area in England received directly from her Department and its predecessor to support regeneration projects in each year from 2001-02 to 2005-06; what funding has been allocated to each local authority for the same purpose in 2006-07 and 2007-08; to which programmes within each neighbourhood renewal area funding has been allocated; and how much was allocated to each programme.

Phil Woolas: The Department for Communities and Local Government and its predecessors, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) and Department for Transport Local Government and the Regions (DTLR), provided £3.208 billion in direct funding to 90 neighbourhood renewal areas in England from 2001-02 to 2005-06; and has allocated £1.564 billion for the period 2006-07 to 2007-08. Total funding for the period 2001-02 to 2007-08 is £4.772 billion. A detailed breakdown of funding provided to each neighbourhood renewal area and the allocations for each local authority and each programme has been placed in the Library of the House.

Valuation Office Agency

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what training  (a) material and  (b) manuals are available for Valuation Office Agency staff on its intranet;
	(2)  if she will place in the Library copies of the Valuation Office Agency's intranet HR learning pages and training events catalogue;
	(3)  pursuant to the answer of 11 December 2006,  Official Report, column 906W, on the Valuation Office Agency, if she will place in the Library the last edition produced of the agency's training and development (human resources) manual.

Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.
	The training events catalogue, on the Valuation Office Agency's intranet, has replaced the training and development manual. The catalogue allows staff to see what events are being held, where they will be held and whether there are any places available.
	A copy of the Valuation Office Agency's, learning home page, has been placed in the Library. To provide a copy of all the attached documents could be done only at disproportionate cost.

Courts

John Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the cost to the public purse resulting from non-attendance at court was in each of the last five years.

Harriet Harman: Non-attendance in a civil court will not generally give rise to a cost to the public purse. The cost of the hearing will have been paid for in advance by the litigants through the fee charging system.
	The cost of the "non-attendance" of defendants in criminal prosecutions in the Crown court for HMCS in 2005-06 is estimated at £5.4 million. Other agencies such as the CPS and LSC will also incur costs as a consequence.
	Information prior to 1 April 2005 and information relating to magistrates courts is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Engagements

George Galloway: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs on what dates Ministers in her Department and its predecessors made official visits to the London boroughs of  (a) Tower Hamlets,  (b) Newham and  (c) Waltham Forest in each year since 1997.

Bridget Prentice: The most recent visit made by a Minister from this department was a speech given by the Minister of State in Bethnal Green on 14 September 2005. Information on visits made prior to the 2005 general election is not held centrally and would not be available without incurring disproportionate costs.

Legal Aid

Christopher Fraser: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs 
	(1)  what changes have been made to the draft unified legal services contract as a result of the consultation on legal aid reform;
	(2)  when the payment annex to the new unified contract will be published by the Legal Services Commission.

Vera Baird: The unified contract will be introduced from April 2007 for all civil, family and immigration providers, including the not-for-profit sector. The LSC published draft new contract documents in October 2006 and is still in discussion with representative bodies about contract terms.
	The payment annex will reflect new rates of remuneration to be introduced from October 2007. The new rates have not yet been finalised, but the LSC is expecting to publish the payment annex in the summer.

Magistrates Courts

Alan Beith: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether it is Government policy to withdraw facilities for the payment of fines on magistrates court premises.

Harriet Harman: The Government's objective is to provide a standardised set of payment methods, that are both flexible and accessible, to all court users, including fine payers. My Department will achieve this through the Modernising Money Handling programme, which is currently reviewing the methods of payment available.

Parliamentary Questions

Theresa May: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs 
	(1)  how many written parliamentary questions to her Department in the 2005-06 session were answered with a referral back to previous answers;
	(2)  how many written parliamentary questions to her Department in the 2005-06 session were not answered  (a) wholly and  (b) in part on disproportionate cost grounds.

Vera Baird: All parliamentary questions to my Department in the 2005-06 Session received an answer. To break this information down into answers on referral and disproportionate cost grounds would involve officials checking every parliamentary question received during the 2005-06 Session. This in itself would incur disproportionate cost.

Parliamentary Questions

Theresa May: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs 
	(1)  how many written parliamentary questions to her Department in the 2005-06 session did not receive an answer;
	(2)  how many written parliamentary questions to her Department in the 2005-06 session were answered with a reply that it had not been possible to reply before Prorogation.

Vera Baird: All parliamentary questions to my Department in the 2005-06 Session received an answer. No parliamentary questions were answered with a reply stating it had not been possible to reply before Prorogation.

Public Appointments

Greg Pope: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the  (a) salary scale and  (b) term of appointment are for (i) a local government boundary commissioner for England and (ii) a parliamentary boundary commissioner for England.

Bridget Prentice: In respect of a parliamentary boundary commissioner for England, these positions are not salaried. Normal commissioners are remunerated at a daily fee rate agreed with the Treasury. The current rate is £475/day, plus reimbursement of reasonable travel and subsistence incurred on Boundary Commission business. The deputy chair receives only reimbursement of travel and subsistence costs. The term of appointment of parliamentary boundary commissioners will vary depending on the circumstances, but any appointment will generally not exceed four years, and consecutive appointments of the same individual will not exceed a total of 10 years service on the Commission.
	Appointment of local government boundary commissioners in England is a matter for the Electoral Commission.

Abortion

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many abortions were carried out in the Lincolnshire health authority area on girls aged  (a) under 16 and  (b) under 18 in each year since 1999.

Caroline Flint: The available information is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of abortions to women under 18, resident in Lincolnshire( 1)  PCT, 2002( 2)  - 2005 
			  Lincolnshire  Age under 16  Age under 18 
			 2002 44 182 
			 2003 38 203 
			 2004 48 205 
			 2005 30 179 
			 (1) Information by PCT is not available prior to 2002 (2) Lincolnshire PCT is made up of East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire South West Teaching and West Lincolnshire PCTs as published between 2002 and 2005

Berkshire West PCT

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many females in the Berkshire West primary care trust  (a) under the age of 15 and  (b) aged between 15 and 18 (i) had abortions and (ii) gave birth in each year since 1999.

Caroline Flint: Figures are provided on number of conceptions leading to maternities and abortions for girls aged under 16 and girls aged under 18 from 1999 to 2004 (latest year for which figures are available) so that meaningful comparisons can be made on number of abortions and maternities that occur each year by age of woman. Figures for girls aged under 15 and 15 to 18 are not readily available and can be provided only at a disproportionate cost. In addition, figures for girls aged under 15 are likely to be very small at primary care trust-level and hence would not be provided to preserve individuals' confidentiality.
	
		
			  Conceptions leading to maternities and abortions by age to residents of West Berkshire PCT, 1999 to 2004 
			   Conceptions leading to maternity  Conceptions leading to abortion  Total conceptions 
			  Girls aged under 16
			 1999 28 45 73 
			 2000 30 36 66 
			 2001 31 27 58 
			 2002 18 31 49 
			 2003 31 29 60 
			 2004 21 42 63 
			 
			  Girls aged under 18
			 1999 158 138 296 
			 2000 165 144 309 
			 2001 146 139 285 
			 2002 138 133 271 
			 2003 141 132 273 
			 2004 137 154 291

Berkshire West PCT

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many females in the Berkshire West primary care trust  (a) under the age of 15 and  (b) aged between 15 and 18 were diagnosed with having sexually transmitted infections in each year since 1999.

Caroline Flint: Diagnoses of sexually transmitted infections in the NHS South Central area for females under the age of 15 and aged between 15 to 19 in each year since 1999 are shown in the table.
	Number of diagnoses at primary care trust-level is not released in order to reduce the risk of deductive disclosure where numbers of diagnoses are small.
	
		
			   Females under 15  Females 15 to 19 
			 1999 33 1,704 
			 2000 25 1,861 
			 2001 30 1,845 
			 2002 40 1,974 
			 2003 46 2,276 
			 2004 27 2,314 
			 2005 36 2,425 
			  Source: STI KC60 statutory returns from 1999 to 2005, Health Protection Agency. Selected STIs include: infectious syphilis, uncomplicated gonorrhoea, anogenital herpes simplex (first attack), anogenital warts (first attack) and uncomplicated chlamydial infection.

Drug Risks

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent on advertising the risks associated with  (a) Class A,  (b) Class B and  (c) Class C drugs in each year since 1997.

Caroline Flint: The FRANK drug information campaign was launched in May 2003, providing young people and their families with advice and information about all drugs. The campaign is administered and funded jointly by this Department, the Home Office and the Department for Education and Skills. Joint spend on all paid-for advertising on FRANK is shown in table one. The joint total spend across the whole campaign, is shown in table two.
	
		
			  Table 1 
			   £ million 
			 2003-04 3.7 
			 2004-05 1.9 
			 2005-06 1.8 
			 2006-07 (1)4.57 
			 (1 )Estimated 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2 
			   £ million 
			 2003-04 4.25 
			 2004-05 4.3 
			 2005-06 6.17 
			 2006-07 (1)9.18 
			 (1 )Estimated 
		
	
	The Department did not directly allocate money for advertising on drug misuse prior to 2003.

Food Standards Agency

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the division of responsibilities is between the Chair and the Chief Executive of the Food Standards Agency.

Caroline Flint: Under sections one to three of the Food Standards Act 1999, the chair of the Food Standards Agency is responsible for ensuring that the agency carries out its functions to protect public health from risks which may arise in connection with the consumption of food, including risks caused by the way in which it is produced or supplied and otherwise to protect the interests of consumers in relation to food. The chief executive is responsible for among other things securing that the activities of the agency are carried out efficiently and effectively.

Medical Research

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria will be used to assess the UK's standing as a world centre for medical research.

Caroline Flint: The Government measures the performance of the United Kingdom research base using the indicators described in the Office of Science and Innovation's publication PSA target metrics for the UK research base, which is available at www.dti.gov.uk/files/file27330.pdf.
	The main research fields covered by the analysis include clinical sciences, and pre-clinical and health related sciences.

National Radiotherapy Advisory Group

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects the National Radiotherapy Advisory Group to deliver its report to Ministers; and when she plans to make the report publicly available.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 16 January 2007
	The national radiotherapy advisory group is in the process of finalising its report and we expect to receive this shortly. As the report is intended to be advice to Ministers, no decisions have been taken at this stage on plans for wider public dissemination.

Obesity

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research she has commissioned into the link between a high intake of fruit juices and obesity.

Caroline Flint: The Department has not commissioned nor has any immediate plans to commission specific research on the effects of high intake of fruit juices and obesity. The Food Standards Agency has information on the health value of fruit juices on the 'Eat well, be well' section of their website at www.eatwell.gov.uk.

Obesity

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children aged between five and 11 years were overweight or obese in each year for which figures are available since 1985.

Caroline Flint: The main source of data on the prevalence of obesity and overweight among children is the Health Survey for England. Data are only available in children for age groups 11 to 15, two to 15 and two to 10 in accordance with the obesity public service agreement. The following table sets out the most recent data on the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children aged two to 10, between 1995 and 2005.
	
		
			  Overweight and obesity prevalence among children, by year and gender, 1995 to 2005, England 
			   1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002 
			  Boys, aged two to 10 
			 Overweight 12.9 13.8 13.1 14.6 14.1 13.6 15.6 13.3 
			 Obese 9.6 11.0 11.1 11.4 16.1 12.2 13.5 15.2 
			 Overweight including obese 22.5 24.8 24.3 26.0 30.2 25.8 29.1 28.5 
			  
			  Girls, aged two to 10 
			 Overweight 12.6 11.0 12.0 12.5 13.5 11.6 14.0 13.1 
			 Obese 10.3 10.2 10.7 11.8 13.0 11.8 12.7 15.8 
			 Overweight including obese 22.9 21.2 22.6 24.3 26.5 23.3 26.7 28.9 
			  
			  Bases (weighted) 
			 Boys 1,261 1,418 2,007 7,336 633 570 1,035 2,364 
			 Girls 1,266 1,365 2,082 1,216 628 523 1,094 2,290 
		
	
	
		
			   Unweighted( 1)  Weighted 
			   2003  2004  2005  2003  2004  2005 
			  Boys, aged two to 10   
			 Overweight 14.7 14.2 16.5 14.6 14.6 16.1 
			 Obese 14.9 16.2 16.6 15.1 15.9 16.9 
			 Overweight including obese 29.6 30.4 33.1 29.7 30.5 33.0 
			
			  Girls, aged two to 10   
			 Overweight 13.4 14.2 12.2 13.4 14.8 12.2 
			 Obese 12.5 11.9 16.7 12.4 12.8 16.8 
			 Overweight including obese 25.9 26.1 28.9 25.8 27.7 29.0 
			
			  Bases (weighted)   
			 Boys 876 416 695 878 379 664 
			 Girls 897 343 724 858 346 674 
			 (1) From 2003 data were also weighted for non response. Data weighted for child selection only are provided for consistency with previous years.  Source: Health Survey for England 2005—updating of trend tables to include 2005 data. The Information Centre

Obesity

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment her Department has made of the link between obesity and  (a) diabetes type II and  (b) free sugar intake in liquid form.

Caroline Flint: The message that obesity is a major contributor to type 2 diabetes is highlighted in the Chief Medical Officers report 'At least Five a Week' and the 'Choosing Health' White Paper. Evidence suggests that obesity is responsible for 47 per cent. of cases of type 2 diabetes.
	The Department has not currently made an assessment on the link between obesity and free sugar intake in liquid form. However, the Government are in discussion with stakeholders, including the food industry, to develop a strategy to enable consumers to achieve energy balance. The levels of sugars in some foods and drinks are being explored as part of this strategy.

Obesity

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research she has commissioned into the link between obesity and cancer in  (a) adults and  (b) children.

Caroline Flint: There has been no research commissioned by the Department on links between obesity and cancer in either adults or children. However, the Department recognises the summary research evidence available from studies in the United Kingdom, which shows that the risk of a number of cancers is increased by obesity, including breast cancer, cancer of the endometrium, uterus, cervix, ovary and gallbladder in women and cancer of rectum and prostate in men.

Pathogens

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps her Department is taking to detect and identify pathogens that pose threats to livestock in the United Kingdom.

Caroline Flint: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by the Parliamentary Secretary, Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mr. Bradshaw) on 8 January 2007,  Official Report, columns 267-68W.

Skin Cancer

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps her Department is taking to raise awareness of skin cancer;
	(2)  what steps her Department is taking to reduce the prevalence of skin cancer cases in the UK;
	(3)  in what ways her Department is working with the Department for Education and Skills to ensure young people are adequately informed about the causes and dangers of skin cancer;
	(4)  in what ways her Department is working with the Department for Trade and Industry to promote awareness of the dangers of skin cancer amongst outdoor workers.

Caroline Flint: The Department of Health and the other United Kingdom Health Departments have for the last three years commissioned Cancer Research UK to run SunSmart, the national skin cancer prevention and sun protection campaign. The campaign includes raising both public and professional awareness of skin cancer through providing information about skin cancer and its early detection, and by providing guidance on preventative measures to reduce its risk. The campaign raises awareness through support for health promotion events, the provision of printed resources, media briefings and through the SunSmart website. By so doing, and by targeting specific at-risk groups, the campaign aims to reduce the prevalence of skin cancer.
	Cancer Research UK and the Department have worked with other departments and organisations in raising awareness of issues related to skin cancer and in developing the SunSmart campaign.
	The campaign has provided support to schools in developing their own sun protection policies through school guidelines and curriculum resources for use in the classroom. The healthy schools programme, a joint Department of Health and Department for Education and Skills initiative, is currently building a new website. This will signpost advice and good practice on a range of health matters which can be made available to schools including the dangers caused to children at school by excessive exposure to sunlight. Cancer Research UK also consulted extensively with the Health and Safety Executive in developing the prevention campaign for men and outdoor workers.

Strategic Health Authorities

Robert Walter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the number of staff who have been  (a) made redundant,  (b) redeployed and  (c) offered early retirement as a result of the amalgamation of strategic health authorities; and what estimate she has made of the costs of this action.

Rosie Winterton: Information on the number of redundancies is collected from NHS organisations and published on a quarterly basis. Information on the numbers and costs of staff redeployed or offered early retirement is not collected centrally.
	As at 30 September 2006, there have been two compulsory redundancies within strategic health authorities.

Tanning Beds

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanisms are in place to control the unsupervised use of tanning beds and coin-operated tanning machines by under-16s.

Caroline Flint: There are at present no specific mechanisms or regulations that relate to the use of unsupervised/coin-operated sunbeds by under-16s. However the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued guidance which advises against use by those under 16. Cancer Research UK has also worked with representatives of the industry to help improve information for both staff and customers, including the displaying, of information specifically discouraging the use of sunbeds by young people under 16. In the light of concerns around unsupervised tanning salons and coin-operated sunbeds, the Department is planning further discussions with the HSE and other stakeholders to see whether the existing guidance aimed at sunbed operators and customers needs to be strengthened.

Teenage Pregnancy

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of whether the conception rate for girls under 18 years of age is on course to decrease by 50 per cent. by 2010, as announced in Choosing Health in 2004.

Beverley Hughes: I have been asked to reply.
	We have made steady progress in reducing teenage pregnancies since the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy was launched in 1999—between 1998 (the baseline year for the strategy) and 2004 (the latest year for which data are available) the under-18 conception rate has fallen by 11.1 per cent. and the under-16 rate has fallen by 15.2 per cent. Both rates are now at their lowest level since the mid-1980s. However, we need to accelerate progress to achieve the challenging PSA target to halve the under-18 conception rate by 2010.
	Progress in local areas is variable, with some areas seeing significant reductions in their rates, while in other areas rates are static or increasing. That is why we have issued detailed delivery guidance to local authorities and PCTs setting out what has worked in areas with sharply declining rates. All areas have been asked to review their local strategies in the light of these findings and reflect them in their forward plans. We have also provided new analysis on the underlying factors that increase the risk of teenage pregnancy, to help local areas target their strategies in high rate neighbourhoods and on young people at greatest risk.

Trans Fats

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are being taken by the Department to reduce the use of trans fats.

Caroline Flint: The Food Standards Agency welcomes and encourages the voluntary initiatives some businesses have undertaken to reduce the trans fats levels in their food products. However, any product reformulation to reduce the levels of trans fats (generally through the removal of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil) should not result in increases in the saturated fat levels in foods. Dietary intakes of trans fats are well within maximum recommended intakes, whereas saturated fat intakes currently exceed public health recommendations, consequently saturated fat intakes represent the greater heart health risk and remain the priority.

Tuberculosis

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many tuberculosis infections there were in each year since 1979.

Caroline Flint: The number of notified cases of tuberculosis in England and Wales for each year from 1979 to 2005 is provided in the following table.
	
		
			   Total number of notifications 
			 1979 9,266 
			 1980 9,142 
			 1981 8,128 
			 1982 7,406 
			 1983 6,800 
			 1984 6,141 
			 1985 5,857 
			 1986 5,992 
			 1987 5,085 
			 1988 5,161 
			 1989 5,432 
			 1990 5,204 
			 1991 5,436 
			 1992 5,798 
			 1993 5,920 
			 1994 5,590 
			 1995 5,606 
			 1996 5,654 
			 1997 5,859 
			 1998 6,087 
			 1999 6,144 
			 2000 6,572 
			 2001 6,714 
			 2002 6,753 
			 2003 6,518 
			 2004 6,723 
			 2005 7,628 
			  Notes: 1. Notified cases of tuberculosis are diagnosed on the basis of clinical and/or microbiological findings.  2. There are no data on the number of symptomless people who are infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis because there are no validated tests that can be used to screen large numbers of people. These people cannot transmit tuberculosis to others, but can later develop active tuberculosis disease and then may transmit infection to other people.  Source:  Health Protection Agency (HPA) Statutory Notification of Infectious Diseases (NOIDs)